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A SHORT UFl OF 

ABR.AH.A.M LINCOLN 






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Copyright, 1919. by 

PUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY 

(Printed in the United States of America) 

Copyright Under the Articles of the Copyright Convention 

of the Pan-American Republics and th« 

United States, August, 11, 1910 

Published March, zpip 



APR -5 1919 

©CI.Ar)12942 



A SHORT LIFE OF 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN 




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CONTENTS 

CHAP. PAQB 

Publisher's Note to the American Edition . 9 

I. Childhood and Youth 13 

II.' Early Struggles 26 

III. Love Affairs and Marriage 36 

IV. Legal Practise — Lincoln as Member op Con- 

gress 47 

V. The Republican Party 58 

VI. From Prairie Politician to President ... 80 

VII. The Rights and Wrongs of the War .... 92 

VIII. The Gathering Storm 100 

IX. Lincoln and His Cabinet 110 

X. The War 121 

XI. Negro Emancipation — the Turn op the Tide . 133 

XII. Lincoln Reelected President 157 

XIII. The End 169 



20 

48 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

• 

Statues of Lincoln in England Frontispiece 

On the right, Augustus Saint-Gaudens's Chicago 
work, a replica of which goes to London; on 
the left, George Grey Barnard's statue, which, 
after a long controversy, was accepted by 
Manchester. 

Memorial Erected in Recent Years Over Lin- 
coln's Birthplace at Hodgensville, Ky., Faces page 20 

Lincoln's Birthplace at Hodgensville, Ky. . " 

Lincoln's Home in Springfield, III 

Lincoln at the Time of His First Nomination 

FOR President .... 90 

A bust in Grecian marble, by Gutzon Borglum, 
owned by Col. Samuel P. Colt. 

The White House in Civil War Times ... " "102 

The Capitol When Lincoln Was a Member of 

Congress (1847-49) • • • " "102 

When Lincoln became President, the wmgs now 
occupied by the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives had recently been completed, but 
the dome, as it now is, was under construction. 

Lincoln and His Family, a War-time Picture " " 126 
Lincoln had four sons, only one of whom, Robert 
Todd Lincoln, reached maturity. Robert 
Todd Lincoln, who is seen standing ne&r the 
center of the picture, many years afterwards 
went to London as the American minister, and 
is still living (1919). The other boy in the 
picture is the one known as "Tad." When 
an infant, his father had called him "Tad- 
pole," which was afterwards changed to 
"Tad." His real name was Thomas. "Tad" 
survived his father, dying at 19 years of age 
in 1872. Another son, "Willie," died while 
his father was President — in 1862. The 
fourth son was Edward Baker who died in 
Illinois in infancy. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

LixVCOLN AND His Cabinet as Assembled in 1862 
TO Hear the Emancipation Proclamation 

Read Faces page 136 

Left to right (sitting) — Edwin M. Stanton, Secre- 
tary of War; Abraham Lincoln, President; 
Gidfeon Welles, Secretary of the Navy; Wil- 
liam H. Seward, Secretary of State; Edward 
Bates, Attorney-General. 
Left to right (standing) — Salmon P. Chase, Sec- 
retary of the Treasury; Caleb Smith, Secretary 
of the Interior; Montgomery Blair, Postmas- 
ter-General. 

General Ulysses S. Grant, a War-Time Por- 
trait " "146 



PUBLISHER'S NOTE TO THE AMERICAN 

EDITION 

The arrangements undertaken during the progress of 
the war, to set up in London a statue of Abraham 
Lincoln, gave special emphasis, among British people, 
to certain points in this war that were analogous to 
others in our Civil War. Not only was this observed 
in miUtary problems that arose, but in the moral side 
of the issue itself, as understood by the Entente Allies, 
the war for them being a struggle to preserve what 
Lincoln called "government of the people, by the 
people, for the people." Instead, however, of one 
statue of Lincoln being set up in England, it was 
promised, as the result of an acrimonious controversy, 
that two would be— George Grey Barnard's in Man- 
chester, and a replica of Augustus Saint-Gaudens' 
Chicago work going to London. With the war ended, 
Lincoln's achievement was again recalled in connection 
with the terms of peace to be made with the Central 
Powers, which, it was contended, should follow Lin- 
coln's example in his peace dealings with the South — 
that is, the terms should be such as to secure for the 

9 



10 PUBLISHER'S NOTE 

Entente the essential purposes for which their armies 
had fought. 

Conditions such as these inevitably gave rise to keen 
European interest in Lincoln's Ufe, to writings about 
him in periodicals, to much conversation among in- 
dividuals, with one notable English biography of him, 
the first ever written by an Enghshman-— Lord Charn- 
wood's large volume in the "Makers of the Nineteenth 
Century Series." A notable book was Lord Charn- 
wood's, much read in this country for two years past, 
and called for in more than one edition soon after its 
publication. Readers were much imprest, not only 
by the author's grasp of his theme and his literary 
gifts, but by his breadth of view, his comprehension 
of the real things at issue in the American Civil War. 
Not a few readers saw in it qualities that reminded 
them of Sir George Otto Trevelyan's "The American 
Revolution," which to many had been found the most 
satisfying of all works on the subject. 

The interest taken on this side of the water in the 
Charnwood and Trevelyan books — not to mention the 
interest taken during almost thirty years in Lord 
Bryce's classic treatise on our institutions, "The 
American Commonwealth" — has led the publishers 
who now bring out an American edition of the Hon. 
Ralph Shirley's "A Short Life of Abraham Lincoln," 
to believe that Americans will be interested in it, not 
less for its intrinsic merits than as the work of an 
Englishman. Mr. Shirley has endeavored to give, in 



PUBLISHER'S NOTE 11 

as concise form as possible, the essential details of 
Lincoln's early life of penury and small local successes 
in the Middle West, as well as the master part he 
played in middle life in the preservation of the Union 
and the suppression of slavery. Mr. Shirley has gone 
to accepted sources for his facts, and, while writing 
to the level of the mind already informed, has kept 
more especially before him the mind that is relatively 
uninformed as to Lincoln. This meant the employ- 
ment of simple language and only such details as were 
necessary to a real and speedy comprehension of the 
tasks Lincoln took up as President, and the manner in 
which he performed them, in achieving for his country 
and the world at large such great and enduring results. 

New York, March 1, 1919, 



A SHORT LIFE OF 

ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Chapter I 

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 

Of the world^s great men, surely the greatest are those 
who have made history; that is to say, those who, by 
their personal action, have turned the current of events 
in such a manner that the subsequent history of the 
world has been radically changed by their intervention 
in the course of affairs. Among such men we may 
name without hesitation Alexander the Great, Napo- 
leon, and in our own times Otto von Bismarck. Owing 
to the individual action of each of these three men, 
who may be selected as typical instances, the current 
of history was radically altered from what it would 
have been if they had played no prominent part in the 
shaping of events. As a rule, the modern statesman, 
however notable his achievements, can hardly claim a 
place among such molders of history. To name one 

of the most eminent, Gladstone was always an op- 

13 



14 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

portunist, and even in the case of his championship 
of Home Rule he was driven to the position he adopted 
by the force of circumstances. 

Can we place the name of Abraham Lincoln in the 
first category? It is doubtful if any unanimous agree- 
ment could be arrived at on this point, but a careful 
survey of the events of his time will, I think, lead us 
to the conclusion that the substitution of some other 
President of the United States at the critical moment 
would have resulted in a very different solution of the 
grave problem which confronted America, from that 
which actually eventuated. The desire to find a way 
out of the difficulty which should at all costs avoid 
the horrors of civil war was strong on both sides, and 
overwhelmingly so in the case of the North. The 
majority of the politicians of that time were eager, 
probably over-eager, for compromise; and extremists, 
such as the whole-hearted AboHtionists, were not 
merely scouted in the South, but cold-shouldered and 
looked upon with the gravest disfavor by many in 
the North. There was, indeed, in the North the 
strongest feeling against any disruption of the Union, 
but there were vast numbers who were prepared to 
sacrifice even this, should such a step prove to be the 
only manner of avoiding internecine strife. There was, 
again, a very large body of opinion which, while greatly 
averse to any extension of slavery within the borders 
of the States, was yet prepared to make concessions 
even on what was with it a question of principle, 



CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 15 

rather than ahenate the Southern States. Concessions 
in this direction had already been made to the South 
beyond what might have been considered justifiable, 
notably in the case of the repeal of the Missouri Com- 
promise, and it seemed probable that further pressure 
by the slave-owning communities might lead in the 
final issue to further concession still. That a firm stand 
was made on this question of no further concession to 
slavery was due, we may say almost entirely, to the 
attitude taken up by Abraham Lincoln, and it was the 
adoption of this firm stand which led to the war between 
North and South, with all that it eventually entailed. 
There are few to-day who would hesitate to affirm 
that Lincoln was justified in the attitude which he 
took up. There remains, however, the strong proba- 
bility that, had he been absent from the helm, com- 
promise might have held the day. If this is the true 
view to take, clearly Lincoln must be classed among 
those men who by their personal action have molded 
history. It is for this reason that many have delighted 
to point to the nomination of Lincoln to the Presidency 
as evidence of the intervention of Providence in human 
affairs. For, taking the view that, apart from his 
election, the cause of slavery would in all probability 
have triumphed, they are able to show that to all 
appearance this election was due to fortuitous circum- 
stances rather than to any great movement of the 
majority of the American people to summon him to the 
first position in the great Republic as the man of their 



16 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

choice. Providence, these people will tell us, stept 
in and so molded events that the one man who could 
save the situation was chosen President. As William 
Eleroy Curtis^ remarks: — 

"When Mr. Lincoln was nominated for the Presidency 
he was iin unknown man. He had occupied no important 
position. He had rendered no great pubhc service. His 
reputation was that of a debater and politician, and did not 
become national until he dehvered a remarkable speech at 
the Cooper Union, New York. His election was not due 
to personal popularity, nor to the strength of the party he 
represented, nor to the justice of his cause, but to factional 
strife and jealousies among his opponents." 

In following out the life-history of this remarkable 
man, I think we shall be able to realize that the position 
which Lincoln won was due more to his personal 
quaUfications, diplomatic talents, and pohtical fore- 
sight than is generally appreciated; but a cursory 
view of the situation gives a very plausible appearance 
to the arguments advanced by those who would see in 
this appointment definite evidence of the overruling 
of the Divine Hand. At least the position taken up 
is a tacit admission how much in the actual course of 
events must be acknowledged to be due to Lincoln's 
personal character and individual action. 

The greatest appeal to the imagination is ever made 
by those men who have risen from the humblest situa- 

Un his book, "The True Abraham Lincoln," p. 14. 



CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 17 

tion in life to the highest pinnacle of fame. Lincoln's 
career was a case in point. When asked by the re- 
porters after his election to the Presidency to give 
some account of his early Hfe, he observed that all 
that he could say was comprised in the well-known 
line of Gray's Elegy: — 

"The short and simple annals of the poor." 

The reporters doubtless went away dissatisfied and 
his biographers have been far from willing to accept this 
brief description of his early life as a sufficient account 
of the upbringing and youthful adventures of their 
hero. As is usual in such cases, every channel of 
information has been ransacked and Lincoln's early 
associates appealed to for reminiscences and records. 
The result is that we are able to furnish a fairly full 
and graphic account of the conditions under which 
Lincoln came into the world, and in which he grew up 
to manhood. These were far from affording favorable 
opportunities, in view of his future destiny. 

Though his family figured among the earliest settlers 
in the New England States, and some of them had 
risen to position and prosperity, Lincoln owed nothing 
to family connections. His parents were miserably 
poor, and his father was one of those people who always, 
somehow, managed to keep the wolf from the door 
without being successful in ever shutting out from 
his conditions the proximate menace which the old 
adage implies. Samuel Lincoln, the progenitor of 



18 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Abraham Lincoln, appears to have emigrated from the 
west of England some years subsequently to the landing 
of the Pilgrim Fathers, and to have settled at a village 
called Hingham on the south shore of Massachusetts 
Bay. Among the descendants of this Samuel was one 
John, who became prominent in public life and was 
a member of the Convention that framed the first 
constitution of the State of Pennsylvania. John's third 
son was named Abraham. His father presented him 
with a farm in the Shenandoah Valley, and he married 
one Anna Boone, a cousin of Daniel Boone, a famous 
American pioneer, and by her had three sons. It 
happened that while at work upon his farm Abraham 
and his sons were attacked by a squad of Indians. 
The father was shot on the spot; the elder brother ran 
for a rifle and, coming back, shot his father's assailant. 
In the meantime Josiah, the second son, had gone to 
the neighbors for assistance, and the Indians took to 
flight ^vithout doing further damage. 

Of these three brothers, the youngest, Thomas, then 
a child of six, was the father of the future President. 
It is suggested that the mother, Anna, was a poor 
manager. Anyhow, she abandoned the farm in Jeffer- 
son County. Eventually the eldest son, Mordecai, 
inherited the bulk of his father's property, and sub- 
sequently became sheriff of Washington County and a 
member of the Kentucky Legislature. Misfortune 
dogged Thomas's footsteps from his earhest years. 
For some unknown reason he seems to have been left 



CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 19 

to shift for himself, and at ten years of age is met 
with as a wandering laboring boy who supported 
himself by farm work and other such employment, and 
subsequently learned the trade of carpenter and cabinet- 
maker. He is stated to have been a powerfully built 
man, and, like his son, had a wide local reputation as a 
wrestler. While learning his trade of carpenter in the 
shop of Joseph Hanks, Thomas Lincoln fell in love 
with and married Nancy Hanks, the niece of his 
employer. 

Nancy Hanks was the youngest of eight children, 
and brought nothing to improve Thomas Lincoln's 
financial position. She is, however, represented as 
being a woman of a sweet temper and handsome ap- 
pearance, and of intelligence and character superior 
to her position. Thomas Lincoln in the first instance 
took his wife to a log cabin in a village called Elizabeth 
Town, where he practised his trade as carpenter; but 
two years later he abandoned carpentering and moved 
to Hodgensville on Nolan Creek, where he took up 
farming as his means of hvelihood. Here, in a one- 
room cabin with a single window, his eldest son and 
second child, Abraham Lincoln, was born on 12th Feb- 
ruary, 1809, the first child, a daughter, Sarah, having 
been born at Elizabeth Town. Four years later the 
family moved to a more comfortable home on Knob 
Creek, six miles from Hodgensville, and here Thomas 
Lincoln bought a farm of 238 acres. 

Three years after this Thomas moved again. He 



20 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

does not appear to have done much good for himself 
with his farm, for he sold it for $20 in money and ten 
barrels of whisky. These and his household effects 
he loaded in a flatboat, which finally landed him at 
Thompson's Ferry, in Perry County, Indiana. The 
boat upset on the way, and part of the whisky was 
lost as well as some of his other effects, which were 
possibly of more value. Thomas Lincoln's destination 
was a piece of timber land one and a half miles from 
what is now Gentryville. Here he built a log cabin 
fourteen feet square, open to the weather on one side, 
and without either windows or chimney. It appears, 
then, that Abraham Lincoln's third home was even 
worse than its predecessors. Here Thomas raised a 
patch of corn and some vegetables during the summer. 
Other food, however, was not difficult to procure, as 
game was abundant, and the streams were full of fish, 
and wild fruits were plentiful. Abraham slept on a 
heap of dry leaves in a loft at one end of the cabin. 
His father purchased his quarter-section of land, ac- 
cording to the arrangements of those days, by yearly 
payments, and it took him eleven years in this manner 
to obtain a patent for half of it. Having done so, 
however, he erected a permanent home of logs, which 
proved a comfortable tenement. 

In the autumn of 1818, when Abraham was between 
nine and ten years old, misfortune overtook the family. 
An epidemic visited the neighborhood, and among the 
victims was his mother, Nancy. This left his sister, 




MEMORIAL ERECTED IN RECENT YEARS OVER LINCOLN S BIRTH- 
PLACE AT HODGENSVILLE, KY. 




LINCOLN S BIRTHPLACE AT HODGENSVILLE, K\ . 



CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 21 

a girl of only eleven years, in charge of the household. 
The family struggled on under these conditions until 
the autumn of 1819, when their father returned to 
Hodgensville and married Sally Bush Johnston, a 
widow with three children, whom he had courted before 
his first marriage. She brought a little property into 
the family as well as her three children, and her in- 
fluence proved to be a good one, as she stimulated her 
husband to industry and made a prudent and wise 
stepmother for Abraham, encouraging his talents and 
assisting him in every way as far as she was able. 

Meanwhile Abraham was growing up. His great 
height and unusual strength made him foremost in 
athletic sports, and he was early noted for his studious 
habits and powers of memory. He soon gained a 
reputation as the best talker and story-teller in the 
neighborhood. At the age of sixteen he worked a 
ferry-boat at the mouth of Anderson's Creek, transport- 
ing passengers across the Ohio River. At the age of 
nineteen he made his first journey outside the Indiana 
Forest. Mr. Gentry, the leading man in the neigh- 
borhood, who kept a store, sent Abraham along with 
his own son, Allen, upon a flatboat to New Orleans, 
with a load of bacon, corn-meal, and other provisions, 
paying him $8 a month and his passage home on a 
steamboat. On this journey they were attacked by 
some negroes while trading along the sugar coast, but 
succeeded in driving them off without serious damage 
having been done. 



22 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

On another occasion somewhat later a second voyage 
down the Mississippi was made by Lincoln. An in- 
cident in this journey made an indelible impression on 
his mind, and deserves to be related in view of its 
bearing on the work he was destined later to accom- 
plish. Among the sights that Lincoln witnessed at 
New Orleans on this occasion was the slave-market of 
that city. He saw there negroes chained, maltreated, 
and scourged. In a slave auction he and his com- 
panions were the witnesses when a fine mulatto girl 
was pmched, prodded, and trotted up and down the 
room to show how she moved, that bidders might 
satisfy themselves of the soundness of the article which 
they were proposing to buy. John Hanks observes of 
the incident: ''Lincoln saw it. His heart bled. He 
said nothing much. Was silent. I can see, however," 
he adds, 'Hhat it was on this trip that he formed his 
opinion of slavery. It ran its iron into him then and 
there. I have heard him say so, often." On another 
occasion, referring to the same incident, he said that 
Lincoln remarked, ''If ever I get a chance to hit that 
thing I will hit it hard." Whether this observation 
was put into his mouth in the hght of subsequent 
events, we have no means of knowing; but clearly 
Lincoln did not forget. 

Such incidents in early life often leave more mark 
and produce greater results than is realized at the time. 
Rousseau tells a similar story with regard to the origin 
of his hatred of the oppressive French Gov^nment of 



CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 23 

the eighteenth century. It was in the course of his 
early wanderings in France, after he had left his native 
Geneva. Having walked further from home than he 
had intended and lost his way, he found himself half 
dead with hunger and thirst at the house of a French 
peasant. He entered in, hoping to find something to 
appease his ravenous appetite, but was offered nothing 
but coarse barley bread and skimmed milk. By and 
by, however, the peasant into whose home he had 
entered discovered the character of his guest, and, 
having satisfied himself that he was not Hkely to "give 
him away," descended by a trap-door into his cellar, 
and brought up some good brown bread, meat, and a 
bottle of wine, and subsequently cooked an omelet 
for his benefit. Having done so, he explained to 
Rousseau that he had hidden away the wine on account 
of the duties, and his bread on account of the tailhy 
declaring that he would be a ruined man if any sus- 
picion were aroused that he was not dying of hunger. 
In commenting on the incident, Rousseau observes: 
"Here was the germ of that inextinguishable hatred 
which afterward grew up in my heart against the vexa- 
tions that harassed the common people, and against 
their oppressors. This man actually did not dare to 
eat the bread which he had won by the sweat of his 
brow, and only avoided ruin by showing the same 
misery as reigned all around him." It is a mistake to 
underestimate the influence of such incidents when 
they occur in early life, when the mind is more im- 



24 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

pressionable than in later years. In both these cases 
an incident, apparently quite trivial, led to results 
which affected the whole history of the world. 

In 1830, when Abraham was just twenty-one, there 
was yet another family migration. ''His father and 
stepmother," he tells us, "with the families of the two 
daughters and sons-in-law of the stepmother, left the 
old homestead in Indiana and came to Ilhnois. His 
father and family settled a new place on the north side 
of the Sangamon River, at the junction of the timber 
land and property about ten miles westerly from 
Decatur. Here they built a log cabin, into which 
they removed, and made sufl&cient rails to fence ten 
acres of ground, fenced and broke the ground, and 
raised a crop of sown corn upon it the same year." 
The sons-in-law of his stepmother, here alluded to, were 
Dennis Hanks and Levi Hall, who had married Sarah 
and Matilda, Lincoln's stepsisters. 

Abraham Lincoln's schooling was of a very spas- 
modic character. He first went to school when he was 
seven years old and was Hving in Kentucky. The 
school was held in a log hut near the Lincolns' cabin, 
and was taught by an Irish Cathohc of the name of 
Zachariah Riney, and it was here that he learned to 
read. In the following year he attended along with 
his sister Sarah a school some three or four miles dis- 
tant, kept by one Caleb Hazel, where the two children 
were taught to write. This was all the schooling he 
had in Kentucky except what his mother taught him. 



CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 25 

At the age of nine he again attended school for a few 
months, and apparently again after a long interval 
when he was fourteen. He also attended some classes 
with a man named Swaney some three years later. 
He was always a studious boy, and his inchnation in 
this direction was encouraged by his stepmother, who 
helped him in his work at home and read with him. 
His father, hov/ever, evidently considered that he was 
better occupied assisting him in his farm work than 
in cultivating his mind with a view to future 
eventualities. 



Chapter II 
EARLY STRUGGLES 

When he reached the age of twenty-one Lincoln be- 
came a clerk at Denton Offutt's store at New Salem, 
and in the following year started on a mercantile 
adventure on his own account, which ended dis- 
astrously. He went into partnership with a man 
named Berry, in a local grocery store. Berry took to 
drink, and the store was finally sold at a heavy loss. The 
good-will and stock of the store had been bought on 
credit, and when the business was disposed of this 
was a credit transaction also. The man to whom it 
was sold shortly after failed and disappeared. Lincoln 
was thus left with the liability for the purchase money 
of the store upon his shoulders, without having seen 
any part of the money for which the business had been 
sold again. Berry himself had died of drink, so that 
there was no assistance forthcoming in this direction. 
This UabiUty weighed very heavily on Lincoln for a 
number of years, and he used humorously to allude to it 
as "the National Debt." Rather than go bankrupt 
or come to a composition with his creditors, he de- 

26 



EARLY STRUGGLES 27 \ 

i 

cided, like Sir Walter Scott under similar circum- I 

stances, to offer to pay off the whole on the under- 
standing that they would give him sufficient time to do , 
so. He accordingly went to them, explained the cir- 
cumstances, and undertook to give them all he could 
earn over and above his bare living. 

In the upshot he paid them all off, but it took him 
some fifteen years to do so. In only one case was his 
offer refused, one of his creditors selling his interest in 
the debt due to him. The purchaser eventually 
brought action and obtained judgment against him, 
and levied upon the horse, saddle, and instruments 
which were used by him in the surveying business in 
which he was at that time engaged. At this crisis in 
his fate a farmer friend of his, of the name of James 
Short, heard of his trouble, and without informing 
Lincoln attended the sale and bought in the horse and j 

instruments for $120, making them over to their ! 

former owner. When Lincoln became President he | 

did not forget his benefactor. Thirty years after, 
James Short, who had removed to the Far West, re- j 

ceived a letter from Washington containing the an- 
nouncement that he had been commissioned by the \ 
Government as Indian agent. 

Shortly after this Lincoln had his one and only ex- 
perience of soldiering. The Indian chief, Black Hawk, 
had entered into a treaty to remain on the western side 
of the Mississippi. He crossed the river, however, in 
defiance of the agreement entered into. The Governor | 



28 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

of Illinois thereupon called for volunteers, and Lincoln 
among others offered his services. Much to his sur- 
prise and gratification, he was elected captain of his 
company, this being doubtless due not a little to his 
great physical strength and height. He was now six 
foot four, and enjoyed no small reputation among his 
neighbors for his feats of physical prowess. He saw, 
however, no actual fighting, and apparently had his 
work cut out in keeping his somewhat unruly company 
in order. On one occasion during this expedition a 
friendly Indian found his way into the American camp. 
He produced a letter of credentials which was pro- 
nounced a forgery by Lincoln's men, who proposed 
to hang him as a spy. Lincoln, however, appeared 
on the scene in time, and with his usual humanity 
promptly rescued the hapless man from his impending 
fate. 

As soon as this little war was over, Lincoln became a 
candidate for his State Legislature, and, tho not 
elected, succeeded in securing practically the whole 
votes in his immediate neighborhood. He had shown 
quite early a remarkable aptitude as a ready, original, 
and witty speaker, as well as a popular story-teller, 
and his power of getting the ear of his audience bj^ his 
direct and frank manner, coupled with liis pithy and 
homely illustrations in support of his arguments, soon 
earned for him a reputation of which he was not 
slow to take advantage. Whatever people might have 
thought in those early days of his quahfications as 



EARLY STRUGGLES 29 

their representative, there were apparently no two 
opinions as to his unique gifts as a popular stump 
orator. 

Lincoln was now at his v/its' end to find 'Hhe need- 
ful." He subsisted for some time living from hand to 
mouth by the aid of odd jobs done for neighboring 
farmers and other friends. But when his prospects 
seemed at their lowest he was fortunate in being recom- 
mended to John Calhoun, then surveyor of the county, 
as his assistant. Lincoln at this time knew nothing 
of the work which would qualify him for his position. 
With the help, however, of one Mentor Graham, a 
schoolmaster who had already employed him as a 
clerk, and with much hard application on his own 
part, he soon acquired the rudiments of the business, 
and it has always been said to his credit that his 
surveys of property were done with the greatest care 
and accuracy. A further small financial assistance 
came to him by his appointment to the local post- 
mastership. New Salem was but a village, and has 
long since disappeared off the map. The duties in- 
volved, accordingly, were not serious, and it is stated 
that he "carried the ofiice around in his hat." In 
1834 he again became a candidate for the Illinois 
Legislature. His uncouth appearance and ill-fitting 
clothes (his trousers were always several inches too 
short for him) were successful as an advertisement of 
their wearer, but the first impressions such a strange 
figure created were by no means always in his favor. 



30 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

It is related that one of those present at an early elec- 
tion meeting asked, on seeing him, "Can't the party 
raise any better material than that?" But after hear- 
ing him speak he completely changed his mind, and 
declared that Lincoln knew more than aU the other 
candidates put together. On this occasion he was 
duly returned, being at the time twenty-five years of 
age. 

In those days politicians did not wait for any political 
convention to construct a platform, but were in the 
habit of issuing their own manifestoes, irrespective of 
the party to which they were attached. The follow- 
ing is Lincoln's as it appeared in the local paper of the 
day:— 

"New Salem, June 13, 1836. 
"To the Editor of the ^Journal' 

"In your paper of last Saturday I see a communication 
over the signature of 'Many Voters' in which the candidates 
who are announced in the Journal are called upon to 'show 
their hands.' Agreed. Here's mine: — 

"I go for all sharing the privileges of the government who 
assist in bearing its burdens. Consequently, I go for admit- 
ting all whites to the right of suffrage who pay taxes or bear 
aims (by no m^eans excluding females). 

"If elected I shall consider the whole people of Sangamon 
my constituents, as well those that oppose as those that 
support me. 

"While acting as their representative, I shall be governed 
by their will on all subjects upon which I have the means of 
knowing what their will is; and upon all others I shall do 



EARLY STRUGGLES 31 

what my own judgment teaches me will best advance then- 
interests. Whether elected or not, I go for distributmg 
the proceeds of the sales of public lands to the several States 
to enable our State, in common with others, to dig canals 
and construct railroads without borrowing money and paying 
the interest on it. 

"If ahve on the first Monday in November, I shall vote 
for Hugh L. White for President.— Very respectfully, 

"A. Lincoln." 

It is clear that Lincoln appealed to the electors on a 
broad platform, boldly announcing his approval, of 
female suffrage, and an enterprising policy v/ith regard 
to the development of the resources of the State. This 
ambitious program was, as a matter of fact, carried a 
good deal further than the financial capacity of the 
State allowed, and reckless expenditure, regardless of 
the ability of the State to foot the bills involved, soon 
landed Illinois in a parlous predicament. In this case, 
as in others throughout his life, Lincoln showed a lack 
of any true grasp of large financial problems. It is 
true he was not alone to blame for the position that 
resulted, but he threw himself heart and soul into a 
venture which more prudent statesmanship would have 
approached in far reckless way, and the State suffered 
from the results of the too sanguine temperament of 
its representatives for many years after. 

It was on the second occasion of his election to 
the IlKnois Legislature that Lincoln made a speech 
which was very characteristic of the speaker, and which 
was remembered against its unfortunate victim for a 



32 . ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

long time after it had been delivered. It was a few 
days before the election at Springfield, and among those 
present was a certain George Forquer, a man of recog- 
nized prominence and ability as a lawyer in the locality. 
Forquer had been one of the leading members of the 
Whig party, but had recently turned his coat and joined 
the Democrats, to the great disgust of his erstwhile 
supporters. As a result apparently of this change of 
mind, he had received the appointment of Registrar 
of the Land Office. About the same time Forquer 
had had built for himself a mansion of greater pre- 
tensions than those of his neighbors, and over it he had 
had erected a lightning-rod, the first of its kind to be 
seen in Springfield. At the conclusion of Lincoln's 
speech. Forquer rose and requested to be heard. He 
began by saying that the young man (alluding to 
Lincoln) would have to be taken down, and regretted 
that the task devolved upon himself. He replied in 
detail to Lincoln's speech, giving himself considerable 
airs of superiority. As soon as he sat down, Lincoln 
rose to reply. '^Mr. Forquer," he observed, "com- 
menced his speech by announcing that the young man 
would have to be taken down. It is for you, fellow- 
citizens, not for me, to say whether I am up or down. 
The gentleman has seen fit to allude to my being a 
young man; but he forgets that I am older in j^ears 
than I am in the tricks and trades of politicians. I 
desu-e to live, and I desire place and distinction; but 
I would rather die now than, like this gentleman, live 



EARLY STRUGGLES 33 

to see the day that I would change my politics for an 
office worth three thousand dollars a year, and then 
feel compelled to erect a hghtning-rod to protect a 
guilty conscience from an offended God." The effect 
of the rejoinder was dramatic, and Forquer found it 
desirable to make himself very scarce for some time 
afterwards. 

Lincoln's capacity in his quite early life for holding 
his audience, as well as his ungainly appearance, are 
borne witness to by Judge Stephen T. Logan, with whom 
he subsequently went into partnership. Judge Logan 
writes of him in those days: ''He was a tall, gawky, 
and rough-looking fellow. His pantaloons did not meet 
his shoes by six inches, but after he began speaking I 
became very much interested in him. He made a 
very sensible speech. His manner was very much the 
same as in after life. That is, the somewhat peculiar 
characteristics were apparent then, though of course 
in after years he evinced more knowledge and ex- 
perience. But he had then the same novelty and the 
same pecuHarity in presenting his ideas." 

Lincoln remained a member of the lUinois Legis- 
lature for some time, being regularly reelected for 
three further terms of two years each. In the mean- 
time he had been devoting his leisure to a study of the 
law, and had even practised a Httle as an unUcensed 
practitioner in the inferior courts. In 1837 he was 
fortunate in obtaining a proper license. In those days, 
in the Western States, reading for the law was not so 



34 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

arduous or so exacting an undertaking as it is to-day, 
and a comparatively brief course of study was deemed 
sufficient as a qualification. 

About this time a Bill was brought in and passed by 
the State Government for moving the capital to Spring- 
field, for the carrying of which Lincoln himself enjoyed 
no little local credit. With the removal of the Legis- 
lature Lincoln removed himself. The society in Spring- 
field was naturally of a much less primitive kind than 
that of New Salem, and Lincoln began to find himself 
for the first time in association with people who had 
some pretensions to education and culture. Here he 
entered into a law partnership with a friend, John T. 
Stuart, and on Stuart's election to Congress four years 
later a new partnership was formed with Stephen T. 
Logan as above mentioned. He was still at this time 
in the most urgent need of funds. An incident on his 
first arrival at Springfield bears eloquent testimony 
to this fact. Requiring to find himself some place of 
abode; he went into a shop and purchased a bedstead 
with a view to furnishing it, and then went on to a young 
tradesman, one Joshua Speed, to ask the price of the 
cheapest bedding and other necessary articles. The 
sum quoted him was $17, which he found it impossible 
to produce. Joshua Speed, however, took a fancy to 
his customer, and, having a large double bedstead 
himself, offered to let him share it for the time being. 
Lincoln went up-stairs to have a look at the room, and 
came back dehghted. "Well, Speed, I'm moved," he 



EARLY STRUGGLES 33 

said, shaking him warmly by the hand. Speed was 
evidently imprest by his tragic air. "I looked up 
at him," he said, narrating the story of his interview 
afterwards, "and thought then, as I think now, that 
I never saw so gloomy and melancholy a face in my 
hfe." 



Chapter III 

LOVE AFFAIRS AND MARRIAGE 

To hie constant financial difficulties at this time must 
be added the effect of a recent love affair which had 
had a very pathetic ending, the tragedy of which for a 
time went near to affecting Lincoln's reason, and is 
stated to have cast a shadow over all his subsequent 
life. This love affair had for its object a certain 
Anne Rutledge, who was the daughter of one of the 
founders of the village of Salem, who kept the tavern 
at which Lincoln was a boarder. He came of a family 
of some note, and boasted of the fact that his grand- 
father v/as one of the signatories of the Declaration of 
American Independence. The girl, who is described 
as something of a local beauty, had auburn hair, blue 
eyes, and a fair complexion. At the time Lincoln 
first knew her she was engaged to a certain John 
M'Neill or, as he gave his name subsequently, M'Na- 
mara. This young man, starting in poverty, had made 
very successful headway with his business undertak- 
ings, and the match seemed to hold out favorable pros- 
pects to the young couple. M'Namara, however, 
before setthng down and marrying, proposed to go 

36 



LOVE AFFAIRS AND MARRIAGE S7 

East to arrange certain business matters in connection 
with his family, who, he said, did not know of his 
whereabouts, and from whom he had dehberately con- 
cealed his movements, fearing that they might interfere 
with his prospects. M'Namara, to whom the girl was 
obviously deeply attached, went on his projected 
journey, but his letters, after his departure, grew 
fewer and colder, and it seemed to his fia^nc^e that he 
would be glad to be released from his engagement. 
She wrote eventually and made the offer to set him 
free, but waited in vain for an answer to her letter. 
Meanwhile her pathetic air had aroused the sympathy 
of the neighbors, and her own family in particular 
were intensely indignant with M'Namara, and urged 
her to give up all thought of a man who had treated 
her so badly. 

About this time Lincoln appeared on the scene, and 
naturally, as he boarded at her father's tavern, saw 
much of the young girl. Indeed, it appears that he 
generally sat beside her at table, and spent the evening 
in her company. Pity is said to be akin to love, and 
certainly in Lincoln's case one soon gave place to the 
other. He was encouraged in his suit by her relatives, 
who were glad to place an obstacle in the way of the 
return of M'Namara, and finally, recognizing the hope- 
lessness of regaining her first love, she consented to 
become his wife. The shock, however, of what she 
had suffered proved too much for her. She developed 
brain fever, which ended fatally. The neighbors at- 



38 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

tributed her illness to a broken heart. The blow to 
Lincoln was terrible. He sank into a condition of pro- 
found melancholy, and his grief was so intense that his 
friends were afraid that he would commit suicide. 
Later on, after he had been elected President, speaking 
of the matter to a friend, he observed, "I really loved 
that girl, and often think of her now; and I have loved 
the name of Rutledge to this day.'* 

His next affair of the heart, if so it may be called, 
occurred three or four years later, at Springfield. 
The heroine in this case was a Miss Mary Owens. 
It is evident that Lincoln's affections were never really 
engaged in the case, and he seems to have been drawn 
into a false position in the matter by his own rather 
fantastic sense of honor. He had met Miss Owens 
once before, and thought her attractive, and, meeting 
her married sister, Mrs. Abel, took the opportunity 
to inquire after her. Mrs. Abel told Lincoln, ap- 
parently in jest, that she would bring her sister back 
with her to Springfield if he would consent to marry her. 
The offer was accepted by Lincoln, who did not seem 
to consider that it was meant seriously. He was in- 
formed, however, later, to his consternation, that the 
young lady expected him to fulfil his agreement, and 
he felt himself bound to propose to her, which he did 
in a manner which must certainly have given her the 
impression that she had no very ardent lover. In any 
case she refused him, and his feelings on the occasion 
seem to have been a mixture of humiliation and relief, 



LOVE AFFAIRS AND MARRIAGE 39 

ais he had come to the conclusion that the lady in 
question was not Kkely to find another lover in a 
hurry. In this, as the event proved, he was mistaken. 
It is admitted by those who knew her that she was a 
capable, intelligent, and withal handsome young 
woman, but evidently she did not make appeal to 
Lincoln. When he met her the second time her early 
attractions had given place to a somewhat premature 
stoutness and matronly figure, and she must have pre- 
sented in every way a marked contrast to his first love. 
She, on her part, complained that Lincoln was lacking 
in the attentions which a girl had a right to expect from 
an admirer, which, under the circumstances, is hardly 
to be wondered at. Writing to a lady friend on the 
subject, Lincoln observed, "Others have been made 
fools of by girls, but this can never with truth be said 
of me. I most emphatically in this instance made a 
fool of myself — a conclusion with which most people 
will find it difficult to disagree. 

Certainly Lincoln was one of those people for whom 
the proverb that the course of true love never did run 
smooth had a specially appropriate application. His 
third adventure of the kind was destined to eventuate 
in matrimony, but not before serious complications had 
supervened; and even so the choice of his partner has 
been the subject of considerable criticism and comment 
on the part of his biographers, who seem generally to 
have agreed with her sister, who made the remark in 
the early days of their courtship, that she and Lincoln 



40 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

were not suited to one another. The lady in question 
was a certain Mary Todd, who originally came to 
Springfield on a visit to her sister, who was the wife 
of Ninian W. Edwards, a person of some consequence 
in the neighborhood, and one of Lincoln's colleagues in 
the IlHnois Legislature. There does not seem to be 
much dispute about Miss Todd's early attractions. 
She occupied a prominent position in the society of 
that day, was bright, witty, and vivacious, and by no 
means destitute of good looks. She was, however, 
quick-tempered and somewhat imperious, and fre- 
quent quarrels broke out between the two lovers as 
a consequence. 

Matters at last became so unsatisfactory that it 
seemed a mistake to continue the engagement, and 
Lincoln himself suggested its being broken off. This, 
however, was more than the young lady herself had 
bargained for. She burst into tears at the interview, 
and Lincoln kissed her, in token, presumably, of for- 
giveness. The upshot of it, however, was that the 
engagement continued, in spite of Lincoln's reluctance 
and obvious unhappiness over the prospect of marriage. 
Things drifted on until (according to one story) the 
marriage was finally fixt for the first of January, 
1841. When the day came every one put in an ap- 
pearance at the anticipated ceremony except the 
bridegroom, who was waited for in vain.^ The next 



iThis incident has been disputed, but the reference to "the 
fatal first of January, 1841" stands on record as a crisis which 



LOVE AFFAIRS AND MARRIAGE 41 

day, after a persistent search, Lincoln's friends found 
him, in a condition of misery and desperation. In a 
letter written on the 23rd January following, to his 
partner, Stuart, he observes: '^I am now the most 
miserable man Hving. If what I feel were equally dis- 
tributed to the whole human family, there would not 
be one cheerful face on earth. Whether I shall ever 
be better I cannot tell. I awfully forebode I shall not." 
Apparently after this fiasco Miss Todd did the only 
thing which seemed possible under the circumstances, 
and wrote releasing Lincoln from his engagement. 
Lincoln's own disinclination to the marriage was quite 
manifest, and the prospect of a happy consummation 
seemed outside the bounds of possibility. By degrees 
he recovered his spirits and resumed his practise of the 
law. The paths of the two diverged, and the whole 
matter might well have been treated as an episode of 
the past. Things went on in this fashion for some 
eighteen months, when the idea occurred to the wife 
of Simeon Francis, editor of the Sangamon Journal, 
to bring the two together once more. The lady in 
question was a warm friend of Mary Todd, and pre- 
sumably was acquainted with her wishes; while the 
husband was a friend of Lincoln. Mrs. Francis was 
a great social entertainer, and doubtless it seemed to 
her that if she could bring about a reconciliation be- 

led not only to a breach between the two lovers, but also to a 
Berious breakdown on Lincoln's part. Under the circumstances, 
what precisely happened must be left to surmise. 



42 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

tween the rising young politician and the brilliant 
society belle it would be a feather in her social cap. 
The result was that the engagement was renewed, 
Lincoln, tho unwilling, perhaps feeling, not without 
resLson, that he had inflicted upon the young lady an 
undeserved humiliation and owed her reparation. 

For fear of a renewed disaster the marriage arrange- 
ments were kept a profound secret. One morning in 
November Lincoln arrived at the home of his friend, 
James H. Matheney, while the latter was still in bed, 
and informed him that he was to be married the same 
evening. The marriage license was duly obtained, and 
the pair were united by the Rev. Charles N. Dresser 
in the presence of a hastity assembled company of 
friends of the bride and bridegroom. It is plain that, 
as WilHam H. Herndon, liincoln's law partner for many 
years, states, Lincoln married Mary Todd to save his 
honor, and in doing so sacrificed his domestic peace. 
The main facts of the case have been glossed over or 
disputed by a number of biographers, but they do not 
appear to admit of any real doubt; and in view of the 
long period that has elapsed since the date of these 
incidents, and the fact that all the people concerned 
are long since dead, it seems fooHsh to make any con- 
cealment of the real circumstances of the case. Mary 
Todd was quick-tempered, inconsiderate, and lacking 
in self-control. As a wife she was constantly making 
scenes which rendered her husband's position extremely 
uncomfortable, and his uniform forbearance merely 



LOVE AFFAIRS AND MARRIAGE 43 

had the effect of making matters worse than they would 
have been had the lady married a husband who was 
less disposed to tolerate her outbursts. 

One or two instances will be sufficient to illustrate 
this regrettable tendency. A lady relative who lived 
for two years with the Lincolns told Mr. Herndon that 
Mr. Lincoln was in the habit of lying on the floor with 
the back of a chair for a piUow when he read. ^'One 
evening, when in this position in the hall, a knock was 
heard at the front door, and, though in his shirt sleeves, 
Lincoln answered the call. Two ladies were at the 
door, whom he invited into the parlor, notifying them, 
in his open, familiar way, that he would 'trot the 
women folk out.' Mrs. Lincoln from an adjoining room 
witnessed the ladies' entrance and overheard her hus- 
band's jocose expression. Her indignation was so in- 
stantaneous that she made the situation exceedingly 
interesting for him, and he was glad to retreat from 
the mansion. He did not return till very late at night, 
and then sUpt in quietly at a back door." One of the 
difficulties of the household was due to the fact that 
Mrs. Lincoln's unreasonableness and violent temper 
made it impossible for her to retain servants in her 
employ for any length of time. 

On one occasion a man whose niece had been engaged 
by her called at the house to learn why the girl had 
been so unceremoniously dismissed from her employ- 
ment. Mrs. Lincoln met the man at the door, giving 
vent to her feehngs and resorting to such violent 



44 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

gesticulations and emphatic language that the man 
beat a hasty retreat. He took the earliest opportunity 
of complaining to Lincoln himself on the matter and 
exacting, as he hoped, proper satisfaction for his wife's 
conduct. He found Lincoln entertaining a crowd in a 
local store. The man called him to the door and put 
his complaint before him. Lincoln, having listened to 
his story, observed, in his quiet way: ''My friend, I 
regret to hear this; but let me ask you in all candor, 
cannot you endure for a few moments what I have 
had as my daily portion for the last fifteen years?" 
Lincoln's appeal completely disarmed the offended 
fellow-townsman. Grasping the unfortunate husband's 
hands, he expressed his sjnupathy in no uncertain 
terms. Lincoln afterwards, adds Herndon, had no bet- 
ter friend in Springfield. 

Lincoln made special efforts to retain the services of 
one of the servants who was specially useful in the 
household. On account of the frequency of the tem- 
pestuous scenes with Mrs. Lincoln, this was no easy 
matter. Finally Lincoln made an arrangement with 
her, of course without his wife's knowledge, to pay 
her an extra dollar a week out of his own pocket, on the 
understanding that she should humor his wife and 
overlook her frequent outbreaks. The natural result 
of this state of affairs was that Lincoln did not spend 
more time in his home than he found necessary. In 
this connection Judge Davis's statement is of interest. 
He observes: ''As a general rule, when all the lawyenn 



LOVE AFFAIRS AND MARRIAGE 45 

on a Saturday evening would go home and see their 
families and friends, Lincoln would find some excuse 
and refuse to go. We said nothing, but it seemed to 
us all that he was not domestically happy." 

Mary Todd was extremely ambitious from a social 
standpoint; and, indeed, had assured her friends, long 
before she married, that she had set her heart upon 
becoming a President's wife. Curiously enough, a 
double chance seemed to offer itself to her, as during 
her early engagement with Lincoln, Stephen A. Doug- 
las, destined later to become Lincohi's greatest rival, 
and looked upon by many as a probable future Presi- 
dent of the United States, crossed her path. In spite 
of her prior engagement, a somewhat violent flirtation 
ensued, and it was thought by some that Miss Todd 
preferred Douglas to his rival. As, from the society 
point of view, Douglas was far more accomplished and 
attractive than Lincoln, v/ho was shy and awkward in 
the presence of the ladies, this is hardly to be wondered 
at. In any case, Mary Todd fell ill, harassed, as it 
appears, by her perplexity between the rival suitors, 
and it is stated that the lady's physician, Dr. WilHam 
Wallace, intervened, saw Douglas, and induced him 
to withdraw. It is clear that Lincoln was under the 
spell of the lady's fascination, even while he felt that 
the marriage could only end in disaster. His habitual 
inabihty to say ''No" sealed his fate, and led to a 
marriage which failed at least to bring him domestic 
happiness. 



40 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

There were, however, undoubted compensations. 
Lincoln had no family connections or social influence. 
Mary Todd had both. She was not only a good con- 
versationalist, but spoke French and English with 
equal fluency. She had a quick intelhgence and, when 
her temper did not get the better of her, charming and 
attractive manners. In addition to this, a very im- 
portant point in marrying a man so poor as Lincoln, 
she was an excellent housewife, had a good judgment of 
men and matters, and did much to stimulate Lincoln's 
ambition in his poHtical career. In fact, on one occa- 
sion she intervened when an offer was made to him 
of a Territorial governorship, which, had the offer been 
accepted by him, would have led to his being side- 
tracked at the most critical period of his career, with 
the consequent loss of all prospects of filling the chief 
office of State. It can hardly be doubted that, where 
his political life was concerned, her advice and guidance 
were of great value. 

It may be added that there is no question but that 
Mrs. Lincoln admired and appreciated her husband, 
however unsuccessful she may have been, through her 
own faults of temper, in making him happy. And the 
husband, however distasteful his home Ufe may have 
been to him, appreciated the fact that the frequent 
scenes were no true index to his wife's feeHngs towards 
him. The home situation, however, undoubtedly con- 
tributed not a little to deepen Lincoln's natural melan- 
choly and gloomy outlook on life. 



Chapter IV 

LEGAL PRACTISE— LINCOLN AS MEMBER 
OF CONGRESS 

Lincoln was now no longer a member of the Illinois 
Legislature, and it was his wife^s ambition as well as 
his own that he should become a member of Congress. 
There were, however, difficulties in the way of his 
nomination. Other people in Illinois had claims as 
well as himself. Lincoln belonged to the old Whig 
party, to which, not long after, the Civil War gave the 
ccmp de grdce, while his great rival, Stephen A. Douglas, 
was a Democrat. Among the Whigs who were in the 
running against him in Illinois were Baker and Hardin, 
two prominent local politicians of the day, and Lincoln 
was annoyed to find that at the party gathering to 
settle the question of nomination Baker received more 
support than himself, apparently owing to the fact 
that he was backed by the various local religious de- 
nominations, with whom Lincoln was by no means in 
favor, on account of his reputation for freethinking. 
It became accordingly Lincoln's duty to work for 
Baker. When, however, the matter came before the 

official party convention, Hardin, not Baker, was 

47 



48 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

chosen, and Lincoln, sacrificing his own interests, felt 
it his duty to press Baker's claims for the representation 
of Illinois at the subsequent election two years later. 
This meant Lincoln himself standing aside for a period 
of four years. 

It was not, accordingly, till the spring of 1847 that 
he took his seat in the House of Representatives. The 
interval was devoted to his regular law practise. In 
April, 1841, Lincoln had retired from his first partner- 
ship with Stuart (who had been elected to Congress), 
and had gone into partnership with Stephen T. Logan, 
who enjoyed the reputation of being the best nisi 
prius lawyer in the State and who presented in every 
way the greatest contrast to Lincoln, being orderly and 
methodical, and having a very intimate grasp of the 
details of the law. These quahties were undoubtedly 
very helpful to Lincoln in his partnership, a mastery of 
detail never being one of his strong points, while his 
lack of order and method hampered him throughout 
in his business, and to some extent also in his political 
career. Logan, however, had also political ambitions, 
and they clashed with those of Lincoln. Apparently 
for this reason the partnership was severed, and Lincoln 
appealed to William H. Herndon to take his place. 
This latter partnership was continued uninterrupted 
until Lincoln's death, Herndon carrying on the busi- 
ness on his own responsibility during Lincoln's period 
of office as President. 
Shortly before Lincoln's election to Congress, war 



LEGAL PRACTISE 40 

had broken out between the United States and Mexico, 
and Lincoln, in common with the rest of the Whig 
party, had opposed a resort to extreme measures. 
While supporting the necessary votes of credit for 
carrying on the war with energy when once it had 
broken out, Lincoln made no concealment of his own 
disapproval of the whole enterprise, and protested that 
"the war was unnecessarily and unconstitutionally be- 
gun by the President." The strong Hne he took in this 
matter gave offense to a considerable number of his 
con»tituents, and would probably have led to his defeat 
had he offered himself for reelection to Congress. It 
was only some twenty years before this time that 
Mexico had revolted from Spain, and seven years later 
the province of Texas had in its turn withdrawn from 
the Mexican Republic. 

Texas had been peopled to a great extent by immi- 
grants from the United States, and a petition was got 
up by an influential section of the inhabitants for 
annexation to the American Republic. In 1845 an 
Annexation Bill was pushed through at the expiration 
of his term of office by President Tyler, in spite of Whig 
opposition. Hereupon Mexico, which had throughout 
opposed the arrangement, broke off diplomatic rela- 
tions. There was a dispute about the exact frontier as 
between Texas and Mexico. Mexico claimed both 
banks of the Rio Grande, which the American Govern- 
ment maintained should be the border of the respective 
territories. The new President, Polk, ordered General 



50 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Taylor to march his troops up the banks of the Rio 
Grande and occupy a position commanding the encamp- 
ment of the Mexican soldiers. The Mexican general 
hereupon attacked, and a war ensued which by a little 
diplomacy could easily have been prevented. It ap- 
peared that the American President had acted without 
justification, and that he was anxious to provoke war 
rather than to avoid it. This at least was the criticism 
leveled against him, and it had many supporters among 
the American public. The military success of the 
American Army soon, however, settled the questions 
at issue. General Taylor and General Scott com- 
pletely defeated the Mexican forces, and the City of 
Mexico was occupied in September, 1847. 

The critics of the war, however just may have been 
their contentions, found themselves at a manifest dis- 
advantage in face of the accompHshed fact; and as, 
in the words of the proverb, ''Nothing succeeds like 
success,'' the anti-war party began to incur no Httle 
popular hostility, and Lincoln, who never compromised 
with his conscience or hesitated to speak out for the 
cause which he believed to be right, was himself one 
of the sufferers from this wave of popular feeling. 
Lincoln took up the position that the President had, 
in effect, by his instructions to General Taylor, himself 
initiated the war, and that this was directly contrary 
to constitutional usage. 

Apart from the matter of Mexico, nothing of par- 
ticular importance occurred while Lincoln was a member 



LEGAL PRACTISE 51 

of Congress, while he himself, though he made certain 
political friendships which were of use to him subse- 
quently, failed to make any special mark in the House 
of Representatives. As evidence of his interest in the 
abolition of slavery, he introduced a little Bill for its 
gradual and compensated extinction in the District 
of Columbia, having previously ascertained that the 
representative people of the district approved of it; 
but the Bill met with no encouragement from either 
side. On Lincoln's part it was little more than an 
advertisement of his own standpoint, and in the upshot 
was not prest to a division. As already stated, he 
decided not to offer himself for reelection, and on his 
retirement received an offer of the Governorship of 
Oregon Territory, which, personally, he felt tempted to 
accept. Mrs. Lincoln, however, realizing that by this 
act he would cut himself off* from political Hfe, very 
wisely induced him to decline the offer. It is clear, 
however, that his experience at Washington had proved 
a disappointing one to him, and for some time after he 
showed a disinchnation to take any active or prominent 
part in American politics, and returned once more to 
his legal pursuits. 

In those days, in the Western States, courts traveled 
in circuits — a practise now discontinued — and each 
court was presided over by a judge who went from one 
county town to another to hear w^hatever cases were 
on the list. Springfield was situated in the Eighth 
Judicial Circuit, and included fifteen counties in the 



52 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

central part of Illinois. There being no railways at 
that time, the judge traveled on horseback or in a car- 
riage, followed by the lawyers. The meeting of the 
Supreme Court once a year at Springfield was a great 
event, and, in consequence, attracted large numbers of 
people to the town. 

"When the county town was reached " (says William Eleroy 
Curtis ^), "the judge was given the best room at the hotel 
and presided at the dining-room table, surrounded by lawyers, 
jurors, witnesses, litigants, prisoners on bail, and even the 
men who drove their teams. The hotels were primitive and 
hmited, and, as the sitting of a court usually attracted all 
the idle men in the vicinity, the landlords were taxed to 
accommodate their guests, and packed them in as closely 
as possible; usually two in a bed and often as many as could 
find room on the floor. The townspeople made the semi- 
annual meeting of the court an occasion for social festivities, 
the judge being the guest of honor at dinners, receptions, 
quiltings, huskings, weddings, and other entertainments, 
while the lawyers ranked according to their social standing 
and accomplishments. 

"In some of the towns there was no court-house, and 
trials were held in a church or a schooJ-house, and some- 
times, when the weather was favorable, in the open air." 

On such occasions Lincoln was a great center of at- 
traction owing to his well-known reputation as a 
brilhant story-teller. In one instance, indeed, he 
seems to have gone too far, and disturbed the hearing 
of the case by collecting a large crowd in the corner 

1 In his book, "The True Abraham Lincoln." 



LEGAL PRACTISE 53 

of the court-room to listen to his witty stories. 
Anyhow, the presiding judge (Judge Davis) rapped on 
the bench and, calling him by name, exclaimed: 
''Mr. Lincoln, this must stop. There is no use in 
trying to carry on two courts. One of them will have 
to adjourn, and I think yours wall have to be the one.'* 
After the judicial proceedings were over, the judge 
called to Lincoln and insisted on the stories that caused 
so much merriment being repeated to him. 

Lawyers' fees in those days were very low compared 
with what they became later, and Lincoln was especially 
conscientious in his refusal to charge high fees. The 
account book of Stuart & Lincoln shows that the fees 
charged did not exceed $1600 for the year, and were 
rarely more than $10 for a case. On one occasion, 
however, Lincoln presented a bill for two thousand 
dollars, in an important case in which he appeared for 
the Illinois Central Railroad, and the fee was com- 
plained of as excessive. Having withdrawn the original 
bill, he consulted professional friends, and later on 
submitted another for five thousand dollars instead of 
two, with a memorandum signed by six of the most 
prominent lawyers in the State, giving their opinion 
that the fee was not unreasonable. The company still 
refused to pay, and Lincoln sued and recovered the full 
amount. The case arose from the fact that the Illinois 
Railroad was exempt from taxation by its charter, con- 
ditional on its paying into the State Treasury 7 per cent. 
of its gross earnings. The officials of M'Lean County 



54 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

disputed this right, and contended that the Legislature 
of the State had no authority to exempt or remit county 
taxes. They brought a suit to compel payment, and 
Lincoln defended and won the case. On the matter of 
fees Lincoln wrote: "An exorbitant fee should never 
be claimed. As a general rule, never take your whole 
fee in advance, or any more than a small retainer. 
When fully paid beforehand, you are more than a com- 
mon mortal if you can feel the same interest in the case 
as if something was still in prospect for you as well as 
for your client.'' 

On one occasion Lincoln secured the acquittal of an 
old neighbor, named Duff Armstrong, on a charge of 
murder. Several witnesses testified that they saw the 
accused commit the deed one night about eleven 
o'clock. Lincoln induced the witnesses to amplify 
their statements, and particularly the assertion that 
they had seen the act distinctly on account of the bright 
moonlight. By cross-examining still further he was 
able to prove the exact position and size of the moon 
at the time of the murder. Lincoln finally announced 
that he had no defense to submit except an almanac, 
which showed that there was no moon visible on that 
particular night! Needless to say, the accused got off, 
and in addition all the witnesses were impeached and 
convicted of perjury. ^f 

Lincoln had a habit of studying the opposite side of 
every disputed question in every law case or political 
issue, no less carefully than his own side. In con- 



LEGAL PRACTISE 55 

sequence he was never surprised by the strength of the 
arguments of his opponent. His habit was almost in- 
variably to brush aside the less important points in a 
case and go for the essential issue. Said Justice Davis 
with regard to him: "He seized the strong points of a 
case and presented them with clearness and great com- 
pactness. His mind was logical and direct, and he did 
not indulge in superfluous discussion. An unfailing 
fund of humor never deserted him, and he was able to 
claim the attention of court and jury when the cause 
was most uninteresting by the appropriateness of his 
anecdotes. The framework of his mental and moral 
being was honesty, and a wrong cause was poorly de- 
fended by him." Conscious of his own weakness in 
defending a bad case, he was in the habit of persuading 
his cHents to give up litigation in such instances, even 
when he felt that he could probably win the case. 
Leonard Swett, of Chicago, a lawyer who became 
widely known in America, states that sometimes after 
Lincoln entered upon a criminal case the conviction 
that his chent was guilty would affect him with a sort of 
panic. On one occasion he turned suddenly to his asso-/ 
ciate, and said : " Swett, the man is guilty. You defend^ 
him, I cannot, '* thus giving up his share of a large fee. 
The business of Lincoln & Herndon was carried on 
in a primitive sort of way. They kept no books, and 
divided their fees. Sometimes when Herndon was 
away Lincoln would wrap up his share of a fee in a 
piece of paper and place it in his drawer, marking it 



56 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

with a pencil, ''Case of Roe v. Doe — Herndon's half." 
In the Illinois Railroad case above alluded to, when 
the fee for $5000 was eventually paid up, Lincoln 
came in and said: ''Well,^illy!" (his usual manner of 
addressing his partner), "here's our fee. Sit down and 
let me divide." Lincoln had the habit of keeping docu- 
ments that he had in hand at the moment in the lining 
of his silk hat, which was generally speaking of a some- 
what antiquated type. On one occasion, however, he 
had purchased a new one, and this led to some confu- 
sion, as important papers were left behind in its 
predecessor. In a letter to a fellow-lawyer in another 
town on this occasion, apologizing for his failure to 
reply sooner, Lincoln wrote: ''First, I have been very 
busy in the United States Court. Second, when I 
received the letter, I put it in my old hat, and, buying 
a new one the next day, the old one was set aside, and 
so the letter was lost sight of for a time." These are 
not the sort of details that one usually gives to one's 
business correspondent, but that made no difference 
to Lincoln, who was throughout his hfe the most un- 
conventional of men. 

Lincoln's knowledge of the technicalities of the law 
was never his strong point, and he was liable to lose cases 
which turned on legal technicalities rather than on 
abstract justice or common sense. His mind was 
one that worked slowly, and required full time for 
preparation and to "get the hang" of a case. He suf- 
fered, too, through his lack of method, but no one was 



LEGAL PRACTISE 37 

better in getting and holding the ear of a jury. The 
law, however, was always the second string to Lincoln's 
bow, and as far as his own inclination was concerned 
he looked upon it rather as a means to an end, even 
though, for several years of his life, it seemed that the 
end he had in view might have to be abandoned. In 
spite, however, of this interlude, Lincoln persistently 
kept in touch with the pohtical world. PoHtics was 
his first and last love, and the time was now about to 
arrive when poHtics was destined once more to claim 
his entire energies. 



Chapter V 

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 

It is quite an open question whether Lincoln would 
ever have figured prominently again in American 
political life, if it had not been for the revival in an 
acute form of the dispute between North and South 
with reference to the question of the extension of 
slavery in the American Territories. In order to un- 
derstand the position that this question occupied in 
American politics, it will be necessary to take a brief 
survey of the history of the subject in its earlier stages. 
The original founders of the American Common- 
wealth were generally speaking opposed to slavery and 
anxious to secure its aboHtion. Among these may be 
included the first four Presidents of the Union: Wash- 
ington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison. The Declara- 
tion of Independence contained its implicit repudiation. 
Before the breach with the mother country, several of 
the American Colonies had desired to suppress it, but 
the British Government of the day had intervened. 
In 1774 a convention of all the colonies voted "that the 
abolition of domestic slavery is the greatest object of 

desire in these colonies, where it was unhappily intro- 

58 



THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 59 

duced in their infant state. But previous to the en- 
franchisement of the slaves in law, it is necessary to 
exclude all further importation from Africa.'^ Jefferson 
especially was untiring in his efforts to put a stop to the in- 
stitution. '' I tremble for my country,'^ he wrote, "when 
I think of the negro, and remember that God is just.'' 
In 1784 the North-West Territory was ceded by 
Virginia to the pre-Union Congress. When this was 
done, Jefferson succeeded in securing the passing of an 
ordinance by which slavery was excluded from the soil 
of this Territory and the States into which this was 
subsequently broken up, i.e., Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Michigan, and Wisconsin, which thus became, ifso 
factOf free States. The slave-trade from Africa was 
abolished by Congress on 1st January, 1808. Seven 
of the original thirteen States of the Union, and also 
Vermont, the fourteenth State, had abolished slavery 
by 1805. It will be seen, therefore, that in the early 
days of the Union slavery to aU appearance was in a 
fair way of gradual extinction. The value, however, 
of slave labor for the cotton industry, which made rapid 
strides about the end of the eighteenth century, led to 
a serious setback to the Emancipation Movement, 
and greatly increased the favor with which slavery was 
regarded in the Southern States, where this industry 
was predominant. In consequence, the strong support 
of the North to measures favorable to its extinction 
was counteracted by the interest of the South in its 
perpetuation. 



60 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

In 1820 the dispute between North and South over 
this matter reached a crisis. It was a question of the 
admission to the Union of the new State of Missouri, 
which had been carved out of the French territory 
purchased from Napoleon. The Northern senators 
and members of Congress demanded, in framing the 
new Constitution, that it should provide for the gradual 
extinction of slavery in the State. The representatives 
of the South were deteraiined that slavery should be 
allowed. Assisted by the votes of several of the 
Northern members, they succeeded in carrying their 
point. Missouri was accordingly admitted to the 
Union as a slave State, while Maine was admitted 
about the same time as a free State, thus counterbalan- 
cing the gain of the South. It was, however, felt neces- 
sary that disputes of the kind should be avoided in 
future, and accordingly what was termed the Missouri 
Compromise was arrived at. By this agreement it was 
enacted that ever after slavery should be unlawful 
north of lat. 36° 30' and lawful south of it. While 
this was on the face of it a concession to the slave- 
owning States, it was, on the other hand, a guarantee 
to the opponents of slavery that all States subse- 
quently formed north of the latitude in question should 
have free constitutions. It was hoped on both sides 
that the Compromise would prevent the slavery ques- 
tion from ever again threatening the Union with 
possible disruption. For tliirty-four years tliis com- 
pact was observed. The rescinding of it in 1854 at the 



THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 61 

instance of Stephen A. Douglas proved to be the turn- 
ing-point of Lincoln's career, and led within seven 
years to the outbreak of the American Civil War. 

The occasion of this momentous repeal was a Bill 
which dealt with the government of Kansas and Ne- 
braska, and their admission as States to the Union. 
Stephen A. Douglas moved that the people of these 
States should be empowered to decide for themselves 
whether they would allow slavery or not. As this was 
contrary to the terms of the Missouri Compromise, it 
involved the Bill repealing this in set form. As the 
Compromise in question had come to be regarded, 
at least in the North, as one of the pillars of the Con- 
stitution, the motion naturally created extraordinary 
excitement. Douglas, however, was successful in 
carrying his point, and President Pierce offered no 
opposition. Douglas had always taken up the position 
that in the matter of slavery he was frankly indifferent. 
He had said on one occasion that in any question be- 
tween white men and negroes he was on the side of the 
white men, and on any question between negroes and 
crocodiles he was on the side of the negroes. 

One result of the passing of this Bill was a struggle 
between the contending parties to win Kansas for 
slavery or for freedom. It soon appeared, however, 
to the intense annoyance of the defenders of slavery, 
that the party of freedom in this State would win 
hands down. In spite of this, an attempt was actually 
made to impose the slave system on Kansas against 



62 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

the will of the majority. This, however, was defeated, 
and indeed Douglas himself revolted against this open 
defiance of the principle of the sovereignty of the 
people, which he had defended as the justification for 
the attitude he had adopted in his Bill. 

A further consequence of the passing of this measure 
was the disruption of the old Whig party, to which 
Lincoln had so far belonged. The political struggle 
was obviously now between those who were in favor of 
the extension of slavery in the States, and those who 
were determined to prevent any such extension. The 
Whig party had throughout been a party of compro- 
mise, and had never taken any firm line in the matter, 
though anxious as far as might be to prevent slavery 
getting the upper hand. It was obvious that a party 
holding such indefinite views on the great question of 
the day had no chance of any strong popular support 
either from one side or the other. The majority of the 
Democrats were prepared to indorse the views of the 
population of the slave States, from which they were in 
the main recruited. There was, however, a consider- 
able section of this party which revolted from it when 
it became m-anifest that it was hkely to be identified 
definitely with pro-slavery opinions. Accordingly it 
became necessary to found a new party which should 
stand for the restriction of slavery and its gradual 
abolition. Thus arose the great Repubhcan party, 
which from that day to this has remained one of the 
two political parties of the Union. The party in 



THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 63 

question was recruited in the main from those of the 
old Whig party who felt that the Whigs had not taken 
a strong enough line on the question at issue. It also 
had the support of the revolting Northern Democrats. 
When in 1854 Lincoln returned to political life it was 
as one of the founders of this new party. 

Stephen A. Douglas in the autumn of 1854 came to 
Springfield to attend the State Agricultural Fair, and, 
in view of his prominent position in political life and his 
standing as United States Senator, he was made the 
lion of the occasion. He availed himself of the oppor- 
tunity to make a speech justifying the action of Con- 
gress in connection with the Bill which involved the 
repeal of the Missouri Compromise. Lincoln about the 
same time had taken the field on behalf of Richard 
Yates, who was then standing for Congress. The 
opponents of the appeal called upon Lincoln to reply 
to Douglas. He did this in a speech in which he was 
successful in carrying almost his entire audience with 
him. Douglas himself was present, and rose to his 
feet on several occasions to reply to Lincoln's criticisms 
and arguments. He found these so difficult to deal 
with that he finally asked for permission to reply in 
a set speech. Twelve days later Lincoln and Douglas 
met by arrangement on the same platform at Peoria, 
Lincoln allowing Douglas to make the first and closing 
speeches, while he himself merely claimed the right of 
replying to his first address. This speech again 
created an immense impression, and accentuated the 



64 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

rivalry between Lincoln and Douglas, who it was 
understood would shortly be contesting a seat in the 
United States Senate on behalf of the Democratic and 
Republican parties, respectively. Writing of this 
speech of Lincoln's, Horace White, afterwards editor of 
the 'New York Evening Post, who was present on the 
occasion, said: — 

"I was then in the employ of the Chicago Evening Journal. 
I had been sent to Springfield to report the political doings 
of State Fair Week for that paper. Thus it came about that 
I occupied a front seat in the Representatives' Hall when 
Mr. Lincoln delivered the speech in question. The impres- 
sion made upon me by the orator was quite overpowering. 
I had not heard much political speaking up to that time. I 
have heard a great deal since. I have never heard anj'thing 
since, either by Mr. Lincoln or by anybody, that I would 
put on a higher plane of oratory. All the strings that play 
upon the human heart and understanding were touched with 
masterly skill and force, while beyond and above all skill 
was the overwhelming conviction pressed upon the audience 
that the speaker himself was charged with an irresistible 
and inspiring duty to his fellow-men. Having since then 
heard all the great speakers of the country, I award the 
palm to Mr. Lincoln as the one who, altho not first in all 
respects, would bring more men of doubtful or hostile lean- 
ings around to his way of thinking, by talking to them on a 
platform, than any other." 

Stephen A. Douglas, who at this time was Lincoln's 
great rival, had risen from as humble circumstances as 
Lincoln himself; but in the first instance his progress 
in the political world had been far more rapid than 



THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 65 

that of his opponent. As a youth he was apprenticed 
to a cabinet-maker in Vermont, and had studied law 
under similar difficulties and disadvantages to the 
future President. His ready wit and remarkable ap- 
titude, however, quickly overcame these, and he was 
admitted to the bar at the early age of twenty-one. 
Then, coming to Springfield with nothing but his 
talents and his addiess to his credit, and without 
political support, in spite of these drawbacks he 
successfully contested for the office of State Attorney 
with John J. Hardin, one of the most successful law- 
yers of the State. Shortly after this he was elected to 
the Legislature on the Democratic side. In 1837 he 
obtained from President Van Buren the appointment 
of Registrar of the Public Land Office, and settled 
definitely at Springfield. The same year he was 
nominated for Congress in opposition to John T. 
Stuart, Lincoln's first law partner, who defeated him 
on this occasion by fourteen votes. 

No two men could have offered a greater contrast 
than Douglas and Lincoln. Douglas was short and 
square built, possessed an attractive and ingratiating 
manner, and a personal magnetism which has been 
described as almost irresistible. His voice was rich and 
remarkable for its compass. His skill as an orator and 
debater was unrivaled. He was self-reliant and 
troubled by few political scruples. Lincoln was more 
than a foot taller than his rival. He was ungainly 
and awkward. His voice when first he began to speak 



66 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

was harsh and shrill, and he had none of the qualities 
which tend to general popularity and social favor. 
But he impressed all who heard him speak by his 
honesty of purpose and the depth and sincerity of his 
political convictions. While Douglas was by far the 
more plausible of the two in his style of oratory, and 
electrified his hearers with his eloquence, Lincoln con- 
vinced his audience by the sheer force of logic. Lin- 
coln's style of speaking and the peculiarities of his de- 
livery, as contrasted with those of Douglas, were 
thus described by one of his pohtical friends: — 

"When standing erect he was six feet four inches high. 
He was lean in flesh and ungainly in figure; thin through the 
chest, and hence slightly stoop-shouldered. When he arose 
to address courts, juries or crowds of people his body inchned 
forward to a sHght degree. At first he was very awkward, 
and it seemed a real labor to adjust himself to the surround- 
ings. He struggled for a time under a feeUng of apparent 
diffidence and sensitiveness and these only added to his 
awkwardness. When he began speaking his voice was shrill, 
piping, and unpleasant. His manner, his attitude, his dark, 
yellow face wrinkled and dry, his oddity of pose, his diffident 
movements — everything seemed to be against him; but only 
for a short time. After having arisen, he generally placed 
his hands behind him, the back of his left hand in the palm of 
his right, the thumb and fingers of his right hand clasped 
around the left arm at the wrist. For a few moments he 
played the combination of awkwardness, sensitiveness, and 
diffidence. As he proceeded he became somewhat animated, 
and to keep in harmony with his growing warmth his hands 
relaxed their grasp and fell to his side. Presently he clasped 
them in front of him, interlocking his fingers, one thumb 



THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 67 

meanwhile chasing the other. His speech now requiring 
more emphatic utterance, his fingers unlocked and his hands 
fell apart. His left arm was thrown behind, the back of 
his hand resting against his body, his right hand seeking 
his side. By this time he had gained sufficient composure, 
and his real speech began. He did not gesticulate as much 
with his hands as he did with his head. He used the latter 
frequently, throwing it with vim this way and that. This 
movement was a significant one when he sought to enforce 
his statement. It sometimes came with a quick jerk, as if 
throwing off electric sparks into combustible material. He 
never sawed the air nor rent space into tatters and rags, as 
some orators do. He never acted for stage effect. He was 
cool, considerate, reflective — in time self-possessed and self- 
reliant. His style was clear, terse, and compact. In argu- 
ment he was logical, demonstrative, and fair. He was care- 
less of his dress, and his clothes, instead of fitting, as did the 
garments of Douglas on the latter's well-rounded form, hung 
loosely on liis huge frame." 

What was practically the ofl^cial inauguration of the 
new Republican party took place at Bloomington, 
Illinois, in the spring of 1856. This Bloomington Con- 
vention has always been remembered as the occasion 
of what is usually termed "Lincoln's lost speech." 

"The Convention" (says WiHiam Eleroy Curtis), "which 
was composed of former members of all political parties, 
had adopted the name Republican, had taken extreme 
grounds against slavery, and had launched a new political 
organization; but it contained many discordant, envious, 
and hostile elements. Those who had watched the pro- 
ceedings were anxious and apprehensive of dissension and 
jealousy, and Lincoln, with his acute political perceptions. 



68 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

realized the danger, perhaps, more keenly than any other 
man in the assembly. He saw before him a group of earnest, 
zealous, sincere men, willing to make tremendous sacrifices 
and undertake titanic tasks, but at the same time most of 
them chmg to their own theories and advocated their in- 
dividual methods with a tenacity that promised to defeat 
their common purpose. Therefore, when he arose in response 
to the unanimous demand for a speech from the great orator 
of Springfield, his soul was flooded with a desire and a pur- 
pose to harmonize and amalgamate the patriotic emotions of 
his associates. He realized that it was a crisis in the history 
of his country, and rose to the full height of the occasion. 

"Those who were present say that at first he spoke slowly, 
cautiously, and in a monotone; but gradually his words 
grew in force and intensity until he swept the discordant 
souls of the assembly together and his hearers 'arose from 
their chairs with pale faces and quivering lips and pressed 
unconsciously towards him.' His influence was irresistible. 
Even the trained reporters, accustomed to witness the most 
touching and impressive scenes with the indifference of their 
profession, dropped their pencils, and what was perhaps the 
greatest speech of Lincoln's entire career was unreported." 

Hence the speech became popularly known as ''Lin- 
coln's lost speech," and no record was kept of words 
that had the effect of electrifying a political audience 
in a manner in which no audience of the kind has ever, 
perhaps, been carried away before or since. Frag- 
ments of the speech were quoted from memory by his 
hearers, but Lincoln himself, though constantly ap- 
pealed to by numerous newspapers to reproduce his 
words, declared his inability to do so. Joseph Medill, 
subsequently editor of the Chicago Tribune, narrates 



THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 69 

how he took up his pencil in the ordinary way to take 
shorthand notes of the speech, but completely forgot 
himself after the first ten minutes, so entirely was he 
absorbed by the magnetic oratory of the speaker. 
He states how, walking out of the room in a sort of 
hypnotic trance, after Lincoln had sat down, it sud- 
denly flashed through his mind that he had no report 
to hand to the Tribune. His feeling of dismay, how- 
ever, at this occurrence was somewhat mitigated when 
he discovered that all the other newspaper men present 
were in the same predicament, the excitement having 
carried away the entire audience, including the re- 
porters themselves. 

It was in the Presidential contest of this year (1856) 
that the first trial of strength took place between the 
new RepubHcans and the Democratic party, which had 
hitherto been opposed to the old Whigs. The Re- 
pubHcans chose ^s their candidate General Fremont, 
a Southerner of French origin, who, because of his 
exploration in the Far West, was known as ''The 
Pathfinder,'' while the Democratic candidate was 
James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, a man more noted 
for his respectability than for more positive virtues. 
Altho Buchanan was elected, the show made by the 
Republicans at the polls was far better than they had 
anticipated, and the result seemed to encourage their 
hopes that at the next election they might carry their 
own nominee. Things, however, did not in all direc- 
tions run smoothly for the new party. In 1857 the 



70 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

celebrated Dred Scott case came to a head, and the 
ruhng of the Supreme Court in this notable trial proved 
a severe blow to the prospects of the RepubHcans. 

Dred Scott was a negro who, before the repeal of the 
Missouri Compromise, had been taken by his master 
into Nebraska. Hence he claimed that by virtue of 
this agreement he became, ipso facto, sl free man. 
If so, he was entitled to sue his master in a Federal 
Court, as he was in that case a citizen of Missouri. 
The question for the Supreme Court to decide was, 
therefore, whether Dred Scott was a citizen. The 
subsidiary question was necessarily raised — whether 
Dred Scott was a free man. The judgment was pro- 
nounced by Chief Justice Roger Taney, and concurred 
in by a majority of the justices in the Supreme Court 
of the United States, five of his colleagues concurring 
and two only dissenting. The pronouncement amounted 
to a decision that Dred Scott was not a citizen, and 
went on to state that he also was not free, in view of 
the fact that the Missouri Compromise had all along 
been unconstitutional and void, the exclusion of slavery 
from any portion of the Territories being contrary to 
the established Constitution of the American Common- 
wealth. 

The question that arose was the intention of the 
framers of the Constitution and the authors of the 
Declaration of Independence. Judge Taney laid it 
down that these men had hardly counted negroes as 
human at all, and used words such as "men," ''per- 



THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 71 

sons," "citizens" in a sense which necessarily excluded 
the negro. The fact is, however, that the Constitution 
in question was formulated by a number of States, 
in some of which negroes were actually at that time 
exercising the full rights of citizens. All the earlier 
Presidents of the United States had acted on the belief 
that Congress had the power to allow or forbid slavery 
in the Territories, and the point had been universally 
recognized and admitted throughout the history of the 
American Republic until Calhoun first disputed it 
some eight or ten years previously, in his defense of 
slavery in Southern States. Justices M'Lean and 
Curtis put forward arguments in opposition to those 
of the Chief Justice, and the majority of the American 
legal profession were disposed to call in question the 
legality of this memorable decision. In spite of this, 
the judgment of the Supreme Court could not lightly 
be set aside, and the Republicans, who had based their 
program on their constitutional position, were, for the 
time being, thrown into much confusion and em- 
barrassment. 

In 1856, and again in 1858, Lincoln became Sena- 
torial candidate for the State of Illinois. American 
Senators are elected by the Legislatures of their States, 
and a Senator to be elected must have an absolute 
majority. Thus the name that heads the poll at the 
first ballot is not necessarily the one elected. In the 
election for 1856 Lincoln headed the first ballot, but 
he soon realized that unless his friends transferred their 



72 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

votes to Lyman Trumbull, a Democrat, who, however, 
was also a sound opponent of slavery, a supporter of 
Douglas would probably win the election. Sacrificing, 
therefore, his own personal interests, he induced his 
friends to vote for Trumbull and thus secure his abso- 
lute majority. When a Senatorial vacancy again oc- 
curred two years later, Douglas himself became the 
candidate of the Democrats, and Lincoln was at once 
recognized as his only possible opponent. The strug- 
gle between these two men for the Senatorial vacancy 
in Illinois was destined to prove of historical impor- 
tance. The question that was at issue in connection 
with it was whether the institution of slavery was to be 
tolerated beyond its present limits, or whether it was 
to be left simply for the voters of each new State to 
determine as they thought fit. Lincoln, while recog- 
nizing that slavery must be tolerated in the present 
existing Slave States, from the necessities of the 
Union, was resolute against its extension, and was 
equally resolute in the attitude he maintained that 
slavery, whenever or however tolerated under stress of 
circumstances, must be recognized as a violation of 
eternal right. "We have temporized with it," he said 
in one of his speeches, "from the necessities of our 
condition; but as sure as God reigns, and school 
children read, that black, foul lie can never be con- 
summated into God's hallowed truth." 

A further question, destined shortly after to assume 
an even more prominent position than the question of 



THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 73 

slavery, was now becoming mixed up with this issue. 
If slavery were to be placed under a sort of interdict, 
even though tacitly permitted in certain States of the 
Union, what attitude would these same Slave States 
take up? Would they consent to remain within the 
four corners of the Union under such circumstances? 
This doubt was raised in the minds of many whose 
hostility to slavery from conscientious motives was 
beyond dispute, but who dreaded, before all else, to 
see a break-up of the Union. There were not a few, 
accordingly, whose natural sympathies were with 
Lincoln, who yet preferred to side with Douglas and 
the party of indifference, rather than run so grave a 
risk to the integrity of the Commonwealth. It was 
Lincoln's great distinction that he was throughout 
absolutely opposed to any compromise or tampering 
with the great principle involved. The central idea of 
the founders of the Union was, he maintained, the 
equality of man, and a steady approximation to this, 
as far as circumstances and conditions would allow, 
was the basis and corner-stone of the American 
Constitution. 

Lincoln had to contend against a natural prejudice, 
*'a natural disgust," as he termed it, *'in the minds of 
nearly all white people at the idea of an indiscriminate 
amalgamation of the white and black men." His op- 
ponents were constantly urging that the logical out- 
come of his principles would be the encouragement of 
mixed marriages between the two races. Lincoln lost 



74 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

no opportunity of attacking this line of argument. " I 
protest," he said, ''against the counterfeit logic which 
says that since I do not want a negro woman for my 
slave, I must necessarily want her for my wife. I may 
want her for neither. I may simply let her alone. In 
some respects she is certainly not my equal; but in her 
natural right to eat the bread which she has earned 
by the sweat of her brow, she is my equal and the 
equal of any man." Lincoln at this time entirely 
repudiated the title of Abolitionist, and firmly declined 
to support the Abolitionists in their efforts to get 
slavery declared illegal throughout the whole of the 
United States. The Slave States had entered the 
Union under specific conditions, and the maintenance 
of slavery within their borders was one of them. 
These conditions must be recognized, however regret- 
table such recognition might be. **We grant," he said, 
''a Fugitive Slave Law because it is so nominated in the 
bond." But as to the eternal principle of right and 
wrong Lincoln would allow no paltering. "If slavery," 
he said, *'is not wrong, nothing is wrong." And 
wherever, therefore, it was not "nominated in the 
bond," slavery must be prevented. In a speech de- 
livered at a slightly later date, one phrase in which 
about "sl divided house" was afterwards quoted and 
remembered throughout the length and breadth of 
America, he declared: — 

"We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was 
initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of 



THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 75 

putting an end to slavery agitation. Under the operation of 
that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has 
constantly augmented. In mj'- opinion it will not cease 
until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. *A house 
divided against itself cannot stand.' I believe this Govern- 
ment cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. 
I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect 
the house to fall — but I do expect that it will cease to be 
divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. 
Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread 
of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the 
behef that it is in course of ultimate extinction; or its advo- 
cates will push it forward till it shall become lawful aUke 
in all the States, old as well as new — North as well as 
South." 

No well-known public man in America had ever 
spoken so boldly on the question of slavery, had ever 
voiced the issue so clearly. Lincoln's RepubKcan sup- 
porters were afraid of the effect on public opinion of so 
frank and outspoken a pronouncement. Lincoln, how- 
ever, saw more clearly than they, in realizing that the 
issue must be faced, and that success at the polls would 
be the lot of the party who took the firm stand and 
refused to temporize. To Herndon, himself an Abo- 
litionist, when he questioned whether the passage was 
politic, Lincoln said, " I would rather be defeated with 
this expression in my speech than be victorious without 
it." 

Of the shrewdness of Lincoln's judgment in matters 
political, of his capacity for gaging the sentiments and 
attitude of the man in the street, and his sagacity in 



78 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

judging the effects of political moves, there are no two 
opinions. An Illinois political wirepuller gives him this 
testimony: "He was one of the shrewdest politicians 
in the State. Nobody had more experience in that 
way. Nobody knew better what was passing in the 
minds of the people. Nobody knew better how to 
turn things to advantage politically." At the same 
time, he adds that he could not cheat people out of 
their votes any more than he could out of their money. 

Lincoln's great political foresight was never more 
conspicuously shown than in his contest with Douglas 
in 1858. One of the incidents of this campaign, which 
involved almost daily speeches before public audiences 
for the two great protagonists during a period of some 
three months, was a series of questions which either 
party proposed for the other to answer by way of 
establishing the precise attitude which his opponent 
took up. Douglas began by propounding a list of 
questions for Lincoln to reply to, his object being to 
commit him to strong Abolitionist doctrines, which he 
felt confident would lose him public support. Thus, 
for instance, he wanted to know whether Lincoln was 
pledged to the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law, to 
resist the admission of negro Slave States, to the pro- 
hibition of the slave trade between the States, and to 
the prohibition of slavery in the Territories. Lincoln 
repUed that he was pledged to no proposition except the 
prohibition of slavery in all the Territories. 

Lincoln then propounded to Douglas four questions, 



THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 77 

on the second of which the very gravest issues hung. 
"Can," he asked, 'Hhe people of a United States 
Territory, in any lawful way, against the wish of any 
citizen of the United States, exclude slavery from its 
limits, prior to the formation of a State Constitution?" 
His friends warned Lincoln that his putting this ques- 
tion would give Douglas the opportunity he desired to 
set himself right with the people of Illinois and to secure 
his reelection as Senator. To this Lincoln rejoined: 
"I am killing larger game. If Douglas answers, he 
can never be President; and the battle of 1860 is worth 
a hundred of this." Chief Justice Taney's judgment 
on the Dred Scott case had indeed caused great em- 
barrassment to the Republican party. It had, how- 
ever, created also a serious difficulty for Douglas. In 
view of the attitude he had adopted, he was bound 
to treat this decision as right; but if so. Congress had 
not the power to prohibit slavery in a Territory; nor 
indeed was it clear how a Territorial Legislature whose 
authority was delegated by Congress could possess this 
power either. What, then, became of the point on 
which Douglas had laid so much stress, that each 
State should decide for itself whether it would admit 
slavery or not? To this question Douglas replied: 

"It matters not what way the Supreme Court may here- 
after decide as to the abstract question whether slavery may 
or may not go into a Territory under the Constitution; the 
people have the lawful means to introduce it or exclude it, 
as they please, for the reason that slavery cannot exist a 



78 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

day or an hour anywhere unless it is supported by local 
police regulations. Those poUce regulations can only be 
established by the local Legislature, and if the people are 
opposed to slavery they will elect representatives to that 
body who will, by unfriendly legislation, effectually prevent 
the introduction of it into their midst. If, on the contrary, 
they are for it, their legislation will favor its extension." 

This reply, as Douglas confidently anticipated, gave 
satisfaction to his Illinois supporters, and insured his 
reelection to the Senate. But it gave offense to the 
out-and-out pro-slavery men in the Southern States, 
without whose support Douglas could not win as 
Democratic candidate for the Presidency. Hence- 
forth, by the Southern leaders, Douglas was regarded 
as suspect, and they made up their minds that, what- 
ever happened, he should not become President. This, 
in spite of the fact that had he met with the whole- 
hearted support of the Democratic party, his election 
was almost a foregone conclusion. 

The situation thus brought about rendered the return 
of a Republican President at the next election in the 
highest degree probable. But who this President 
was Kkely to be was still a matter of very considerable 
doubt, and Lincoln himself, despite the leading role 
he ha(i taken in the creation of the Republican party, 
was hardly thought of in this connection. He had, 
indeed, only been a member of Congress for two years, 
and had never occupied any important official position. 
Seward, who was the popular favorite for the nomina- 



THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 79 

tion, had been Governor of New York State. He had 
been a stanch opponent of compromise in the matter 
of slavery and had enjoyed a long and honorable 
poUtical career Other leaders of the party besides 
Seward were not without some show of justification 
in considering that their claims to the position of 
President were greater than Lincoln's. Among these 
was Chase, who had been Governor of Ohio, and who 
afterwards became Secretary of the Treasury during 
Lincoln's fu-st administration. Both afterwards felt 
very sore at the preference accorded to Lincoln, 
and Chase never got over his resentment at what 
he considered a slight to his superior talents and 
quahfications. Certain, however, of Lincoln's friends 
had made up their minds that Lincoln was the right 
person for the Presidency. 



Chapter VI 

FROM PRAIRIE POLITICIAN TO PRESIDENT 

The electric condition of the political atmosphere in 
connection with the slavery question, and the violent 
passions aroused on both sides in this controversy, 
resulted about this time in a number of outbreaks of 
greater or lesser consequence in various parts of 
America. The most noteworthy of these was the 
celebrated raid of John Brown and his band of Abo- 
litionists and negroes upon the Government Arsenal 
at Harper's Ferry in Virginia. John Brown was by 
religion a Puritan of the Mayflower brand, and he was 
in some sense the Garibaldi of the anti-slavery battle, 
the free-lance and extremist who was determined to 
force the issue at all hazards, without regard to the 
laws of society or the State. In the disturbances in 
Kansas in connection with the new constitution for that 
State and the struggle to prevent a slave constitution 
being forced upon it, John Brown had taken a fore- 
most part. He had already engaged in local battles 
and forays, in which blood had been shed on both sides. 
In October, 1859, he engaged in a more daring and 
ambitious enterprise by seizing upon the State Arsenal 

80 



PRAIRIE POLITICIAN TO PRESIDENT 81 

at Harper's Ferry. This exploit, however, was fated 
to be his last. Things had reached a point at which 
it was necessary for the State to intervene by armed 
force. 

Robert E. Lee, afterwards destined to win fame as the 
noted Southern general, took command of the troops, 
and resistance was very soon brought to an end. John 
Brown fought to the last. Two of his sons were slain 
in the encounter, and he himself was desperately 
wounded. His object had been doubtless to obtain 
the wherewithal to free further slaves by force; but 
the mad enterprise had the only possible termination. 
Brown was ? /ally tried and hanged. No State can 
afford to wink at those who take the law into their own 
hands. At the same time his death aroused wide- 
spread indignation and sjnnpathy; for it was felt that, 
however misguided he had been, he had died in a 
noble cause and for conscience' sake. He was asked 
shortly before his death how he justified his acts. In 
reply to his interlocutor he observed: ''I think, my 
friend, you are guilty of a great wrong against God 
and humanity — I say it without wishing to be offensive, 
— and it would be perfectly right for any one to inter- 
fere with you so far as to free those you wilfully and 
wickedly hold in bondage. I think I did right, and 
that others will do right who interfere with you at any 
time and at all times." He wrote to a friend that he 
rejoiced Hke Paul, for if they killed him it would 
greatly advance the cause of Christ. Longfellow, in 



82 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

an entry in his Diary for Friday, 2nd December, 1859, 
the day on which John Brown was hanged, voiced a 
very wide-spread feehng throughout the Northern 
States of America: "This will be a great day in our 
history; the date of a new revolution quite as much 
needed as the old one. Even now, as I write, they are 
leading old John Brown to execution in Virginia for 
attempting to rescue slaves. This is sowing the wind 
to reap the whirlwind, which will soon come.'' 

Coming events were indeed already beginning to cast 
their shadows before, and those with foresight could 
read the signs of the times and realize how ominous 
were the clouds that were gathering in all quarters of 
the political sky. The attitude of Lincoln towards 
John Brown was somewhat similar to that of Cavour 
to Garibaldi. Lincoln was the last man to look with 
favor on open defiance of the law. He had alienated 
the Abolitionists by his insistence on adhering to the 
terms of the Union, by which slavery was admitted in 
certain States. He had now no word of sympathy 
for the misguided enthusiast who imagined that he had 
some divine commission to Hberate the slave. This 
view he expressed in his celebr'^ted Cooper Institute 
Speech, and though to some, at a time when passions 
were so intensely aroused, it must have struck a jarring 
note, it was entirely true to the character of the man 
who made it, and in keeping with his whole outlook 
upon Ufe and his conception of the duty of man to man. 
This Cooper Institute Speech, like several other of 



PRAIRIE POLITICIAN TO PRESIDENT 83 

Lincoln's famous orations, marks an important turning- 
point in his political career. It was in a sense his 
introduction to the intellectual aristocracy of the East- 
ern States, who had hitherto merely heard rumors of 
him as a prairie poHtician and witty stump orator, 
with an unrivaled reputation for telling risky stories. 
"In October, 1859," says Herndon, "he came rushing 
into the office one morning with a letter from New 
York City, inviting him to deliver a lecture there, and 
asked my advice, and that of other friends, as to the 
subject and character of his address. We all recom- 
mended a speech on the political situation. He ac- 
cepted the invitation of the New York committee, 
at the same time notifying them that his speech 
would deal entirely with political questions, and fix- 
ing a day late in February as the most convenient 
time. Meanwhile he spent the intervening time in 
careful preparation." 

It was an anxious occasion for Lincoln. The au- 
dience he was to meet in New York would include 
among its members many of the best known men of 
the day, the foremost representatives of the wealthy 
and fashionable society of the greatest city of the 
Union. He himself was not without considerable mis- 
giving as to the reception with which he was likely to 
meet. The result showed that he had gaged rightly 
the temper of his audience. He avoided all attempt 
at rhetorical display or impassioned oratoiy, and 
studied to make appeal to the reason rather than to 



84 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

the emotions of his Hsteners. The speech was char- 
acterized by the temperateness of its tone and the 
forcible and logical manner in which he drove home 
his points on the leading question of the day. It was 
widely reported in full in the New York press, and 
praised for its "great apparent candor and great fair- 
ness." The late Joseph H. Choate, for some years 
American Ambassador in London, who was present on 
the occasion, has left a record of his impressions of the 
speech and the speaker: ^ — 

"It is now," he said, "forty years since I first saw and 
heard Abraham Lincoln, but the impression which he left on 
my mind is ineffaceable. After his great successes in the 
West, he came to New York to make a political address. 
He appeared in every sense of the word Uke one of the plain 
people among whom he loved to be counted. At first sight 
there was nothing impressive or imposing about him, except 
that his great stature singled him out from the crowd; his 
clothes hung awkwardly on his giant frame, his face was of 
a dark pallor, without the shghtest tinge of color; his seamed 
and rugged features bore the furrows of hardship and struggle; 
his deep-set eyes looked sad and anxious; his countenance 
in repose gave little evidence of that brain-power which had 
raised him from the lowest to the highest station among his 
countrymen. . . . 

"It was a great audience, including all the noted men — all 
the learned and cultured — of his party in New York: editors, 
clergymen, statesmen, lawyers, merchants, critics. They 
were all very curious to hear him. His fame as a powerful 
speaker had preceded him, and exaggerated rumor of his 

1 In an address given at Edinburgh in 1900. 



PRAIRIE POLITICIAN TO PRESIDENT 85 

wit had reached the East. When Mr. Bryant presented him 
on the high platform of the Cooper Institute, a vast sea of 
eager, upturned faces greeted him, full of intense curiosity 
to see what this rude child of the people was like. He was 
equal to the occasion. When he spoke he was transformed; 
his eye kindled, his voice rang, his face shone and seemed to 
light up the whole assembly. For an hour and a half he 
held his audience in the hollow of his hand. His style of 
speech and manner of dehvery were -severely simple. What 
Lowell called 'the grand simpHcities of the Bible,' with 
which he was so familiar, were reflected in his discourse. 
With no attempt at ornament or rhetoric, without parade 
or pretense, he spoke straight to the point. If any came 
expecting the turgid eloquence or the ribaldry of the frontier, 
they must have been startled at the earnest and sincere 
purity of his utterances. . . . 

"He spoke upon the theme which he had mastered so 
thoroughly. He demonstrated by copious historical proofs 
and masterly logic that the Fathers who created the Con- 
stitution in order to form a more perfect union, to establish 
justice, and to secure the blessings of liberty to themselves 
and their posterity, intended to empower the Federal Gov- 
ernment to exclude slavery from the Territories. In the 
kindliest spirit, he protested against the avowed threat of 
the Southern States to destroy the Union if, in order to 
secure freedom in those vast regions, out of which future 
States were to be carved, a Republican President were 
elected. ... He concluded with this telling sentence: 'Let 
us have faith that right makes right, and in that faith let 
us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it.'" 

Following his address at the Cooper Institute, Lin- 
coln traveled to New England to visit his son Robert, 
who was then at college, and in answer to many invi- 



86 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

tations, spoke at a number of places in Connecticut, 
Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, and was every- 
where very favorably received, both by the public and 
the press. 

The Manchester Mirror, in an editorial dealing with 
one of the local addresses, thus commented on his 
appearance and manner of delivery: 'Tor the first 
half-hour his opponents would agree with every word 
he uttered, and from that point he would lead them off 
little by Httle until it seemed as if he had got them 
all into his fold. He is far from prepossessing in 
personal appearance, and his voice is disagreeable, yet 
he wins your attention from the start. He indulges 
in no flowers of rhetoric, but displays more shrewdness 
and more knowledge of the masses of mankind than 
any public speaker we have heard since Long Jim 
Wilson left for California." 

The very favorable impression that Lincoln had 
made in New York and the New England States gener- 
ally reacted upon his prospects in Illinois, and on his 
return it became clear to him that the Presidential 
nomination was within his reach if he chose to put him- 
self out to obtain it. After a momentary hesitation, 
he gave his friends permission to place his name in the 
field if they thought proper to do so. He was asked 
whether, in the event of the nomination for President 
not being obtainable, he would accept the post of 
Vice-President, which he decHned to do. His friends, 
prominent among whom were Judges Logan and 



PRAIRIE POLITICIAN TO PRESIDENT 87 

David Davis, took up the matter with enthusiasm. 
The IlHnois State Convention shortly after met at 
Decatur on the 9th and 10th May, and, appointing 
George Logan the Springfield delegate, instructed for 
Lincoln. 

An incident at the Decatur Convention has won 
almost as much celebrity in its way as the adventure 
of King Alfred with the cakes. While the meeting was 
being held, John Hanks, Lincoln's old friend and 
cousin, suddenly appeared bringing in two historic 
rails which he declared he and Lincoln had made in 
their early days in the Sangamon Bottom in 1830. 
These were received with great cheering and applause 
by the Convention, and the Sangamon rails were as- 
sociated with the name of Lincoln ever after, their hero 
being chaffingly alluded to as the "rail-splitter." A 
delegate at the Convention declared that these rails 
would be symbolical of the issue of the coming contest 
as between free and slave labor. Lincoln regarded 
them when they were brought in with embarrassed 
amusement. Finally, in response to loud caUs, he 
observed: ''Gentlemen, I suppose you want to know 
something about those things. Well, the truth is, 
John Hanks and I did make rails in the Sangamon 
Bottom. I do not know whether we made those rails 
or not. Fact is, I do not think they are a credit to 
the makers. But I do know this: I made rails then, 
and I think I could make better ones than these now." 

A week later the delegates gathered from the various 



88 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

States for the great political Convention at Chicago 
for the nomination of the Republican candidate for the 
Presidency. The strong probability that whoever 
was nominated at this Convention would become 
President of the United States at its most critical 
period since the foundation of the Union gave the 
meeting unprecedented importance. Lincoln had given 
Judge Logan a letter authorizing him to withdraw his 
name whenever his friends deemed such action neces- 
sary or proper. Davis was the business manager, 
and any negotiations that were entered into passed 
through his hands. Lincoln instructed him to make 
no contracts that would bind him, a request to which 
Davis did not find it possible strictly to adhere. It 
soon became obvious that the contest would be nar- 
rowed down to a neck-and-neck race between Seward 
and Lincoln. No one else was seriously in the running. 
On the first ballot Seward led, followed at no very great 
distance by Lincoln. The second ballot showed that 
Lincoln had gained appreciably on his rival, but 
Seward was still first favorite. At the third ballot 
Carter of Ohio transferred his support to the Lincoln 
candidature, enabling Lincoln easily to obtain the 
requisite majority. 

Meanwhile he himself remained at Springfield, wait- 
ing the latest news from Chicago at the office of the 
Springfield Journal. He was sitting there in an arm- 
chair when the news of his nomination reached him. 
His first anxiety was to get up and leave the news- 



PRAIRIE POLITICIAN TO PRESIDENT 89 

paper office *Ho tell a little woman down the street the 
news.'' Needless to say, he was overwhelmed with 
congratulations by his Illinois friends; and the next 
day a Committee from the Chicago Convention, with 
a delegate from Massachusetts at its head, called to 
give formal notice of his nomination. The Republican 
platform amounted to a declaration (which was warmly 
indorsed by Lincoln) ^Hhat the new dogma that the 
Constitution carries slavery into all the Territories is 
a dangerous political heresy, revolutionary in tendency, 
and subversive of the peace and harmony of the 
country. That the normal condition of all the Terri- 
tories is that of Freedom. That neither Congress, the 
Territorial Legislature, nor any individual can give legal 
existence to slavery in any Territory. That the re- 
opening of the slave trade would be a crime against 
humanity." 

After his nomination Lincoln turned over his law 
practise to his partner, W. H. Herndon, and engaged 
as his private secretary a clerk in the office of the 
Secretary of State, of the name of John G. Nicolay, 
who afterwards collaborated with John Hay in the pro- 
duction of the standard Life of the great President. 
He was given the use of the Governor's room at the 
State House for an office, and it was from this as head- 
quarters that Lincoln conducted his own Presidential 
campaign. His activities were throughout devoted to 
harmonizing the rather numerous discords and local 
dissensions in the Republican party, for which his 



90 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

tact and good temper specially adapted him. His fore- 
sight as regards the probable moves of his opponents 
in the political campaign was rem^arkable and unique. 
He was, however, over-sanguine in his belief that the 
South would not have recourse to the arbitrament of 
arms at the last resort. ^'The people of the South," 
he said, "have too much sense to attempt the ruining 
of the Government." 

Lincoln's own cool and calculating nature made it 
difficult for him to realize the extent to which passions 
had been aroused in the Southern States. He at- 
tempted constantly to reassure the slave-owning States 
as regards the attitude likely to be taken by a Repub- 
lican administration. "Do the people of the South," 
he asked in a letter to Alexander H. Stephens, "really 
entertain fears that a Republican administration would 
directly or indirectly interfere with the slaves? If 
they do, I wish to assure you, as once a friend — and 
still, I hope, not an enemy, — there is no cause for such 
fears. The South would be in no greater danger in this 
respect than in the days of Washington. I suppose, 
however, that this does not meet the case. You think 
slavery is right and ought to be extended; while we 
think it is wrong and ought to be restricted. That, I 
suppose, is the rub." The election took place on 
6th November, 1860. There were four competitors: 
Lincoln, for the Republicans; Douglas, for the Demo- 
crats; Breckenridge, for the Slave-owners; and Bell, 
for the old Whigs, now quite a forlorn hope. The 




LINCOLN AT THE TIME OF HIS FIRST NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT 
A bust in Grecian marble, by Gutzon Borglum, owned by Col. Samuel P. Colt 



PRAIRIE POLITICIAN TO PRESIDENT 91 

popular vote gave Lincoln a majority of some 600,000 
over Douglas, his nearest rival; but in the voting of 
the Electoral College, Lincoln received an absolute 
majority of 180 votes, his nearest competitor being 
Breckenridge, with 72. Springfield, needless to say, 
was en fete on receipt of the news of the declaration of 
the poll. Lincoln was called upon for a speech, but 
he merely thanked his supporters for their congratu- 
lations and observed : ^' In all our rejoicing let us neither 
express nor cherish any hard feeling towards any citizen 
who has differed from us. Let us at all times remember 
that all American citizens are brothers of a common 
country, and should dwell together in the bonds of 
fraternal feeling." Lincoln's habitual caution was in- 
deed never more strongly shown than in what he said 
and what he refrained from saying at this critical mo- 
ment of his country's history. 



Chapter VII 

THE RIGHTS AND WRONGS OF THE WAR 

For the next four months, according to the rules of 

the United States Constitution, Lincoln found his hands 

tied. He was President-elect, but did not come into 

office until the succeeding March. In view of the 

active steps for secession which were at once taken by 

the South as soon as the news of his election became 

known, this position was a singularly embarrassing one, 

as he had no means of taking action himself, and the 

outgoing President was also unwilling to take any steps 

which might, as he feared, precipitate a conflict. 

Appeals came to him from all quarters, but naturally 

he could do nothing. To an old friend who came to 

see him at Springfield he observed sadly: "I suppose 

you have forgotten the trial down in Montgomery 

County, where your partner gave away your case in 

his opening speech. I saw you motioning to him, and 

how uneasy you were; but you could not stop him. 

And that is just the way with Buchanan and me. He 

is giving away the case, and I cannot stop him." 

One effort was made for a joint conference of the 

President and the President-elect on the situation; 

92 



RIGHTS AND WRONGS OF THE WAR 93 

but Lincoln realized the danger that might arise through 
thus compromising himself in the matter without pos- 
sessing the necessary power to act, and replied with 
a counter proposition which threw back upon the 
representatives of the seceding States the responsibility 
for opening hostilities. General Green came to Spring- 
field in December, suggesting such a conference on 
behalf of President Buchanan. Lincoln listened to 
Green with courtesy and attention, and handed him a 
letter in which he stated that he did not desire any 
amendment to the Constitution, altho he recognized 
the right of the American people to adopt one. That he 
believed in maintaining inviolate the rights of each State 
to control its own domestic institutions; and that he 
considered the lawless invasion by armed force of the 
soil of any State or Territory as the gravest of crimes. 
While these were his sentiments, he declined to consent 
to their publication unless the Senators from Georgia, 
Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas 
would sign a pledge 'Ho suspend all action for the dis- 
memberment of the Union until some act deemed to be 
violative of our rights shall be done by the incoming 
administration." Thus the negotiations fell through. 

From the first Lincoln took up a most determined 
attitude with regard to the question of secession and 
slavery. Of the former he said : ''The right of a State 
to secede is not an open or debatable question." With 
regard to the latter, he wrote to Ehhu B. Washburne 
as follows: "Prevent our friends from demoralizing 



94 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

themselves and their cause by entertaining propo- 
sitions for compromise of any sort on slavery exten- 
sions." And again to Seward he wrote: "I say now, 
as I have said all the while, that on the question of 
extending slavery I am inflexible. I am for no com- 
promise which assists or permits the extension of the 
institution on soil owned by the nation." 

Lincoln's attitude on both these questions was thus 
quite unmistakable from the first, and he never flinched 
or compromised throughout, or deviated in any way 
from the position he had adopted. In America gener- 
ally, however, there were all sorts and varieties of 
opinions with regard to both one question and the 
other. The South was determined to maintain slavery 
at all hazards, and freely quoted the Bible in its sup- 
port, naming an earlier Abraham as one of its most 
undoubted supporters. The pulpit was thus brought 
in as a champion of an institution which outraged the 
very basic principles of Christianity. In the North 
there were many men like Stephen Douglas, who 
were indifferent in the matter. Then, again, there 
were the Abolitionists, who were determined to abolish 
slavery throughout the Union at whatever price, even 
if this involved the breaking up of the Union itself. 
These, however, were a comparatively small minority. 
The large majority of the Northern voters took a very 
similar line to Lincoln, refusing to purchase the ad- 
hesion of the South by making any further concessions 
to the slave-owning States. A very much larger, 



RIGHTS AND WRONGS OF THE WAR 95 

inc'eed an overwhelming majority, were determined 
that under no circumstances whatever should the 
Union be dissolved, even if this involved all the horrors 
of civil war. The average Northerner looked upon the 
secession of a State or States from the Union as rebel- 
lion pure and simple. In the South, on the other hand, 
the Union was merely regarded as a federation which 
it would be regrettable to dissolve, but from which it 
was legitimate for any State, should it so desire, to 
withdraw at its own option. 

On the question, thus, of the fundamental character 
of the Union itself. North and South were sharply 
divided. It is pertinent to ask which was in the right. 
There are two points of view from which this question 
may be answered. The first and most obvious is the 
historical standpoint, and to some, at first sight, this 
may seem to be the only inquiry that has a bearing on 
the matter at issue. Taking this point of view first, 
it is by no means clear that the original Constitution 
of the Union deprived the federating States of the right 
of secession. The intention doubtless was to form a 
permanent federation; but there was no denial of the 
right of a State to secede at any subsequent period if 
it so chose, and if any such stipulation had been then 
made it is somewhat doubtful if the federation could 
have been formed. Grave difficulties had to be over- 
come at the time in order to induce the several States to 
come together under one government. In order to 
reduce to a minimum the not inconsiderable opposition 



96 ABRAHAM LINCOLN' 

which existed in some of these States to bringing the 
federation into being, public declarations were made 
to the citizens of the most reluctant of the original 
States by their own representatives to the effect that 
if the federation proved detrimental to their interests 
it would be open to the States in question to withdraw. 
Tho such statements were made without any real 
authority, they obviously exprest the view then held 
by many, and it is noteworthy that no trouble was 
taken to contradict them. It seems, indeed, that 
from the historical standpoint the case of the North 
for the enforcement of the Union was singularly weak. 
Apart, however, from this historical question, there 
were and are certain general considerations in a case 
of the kind which are bound to have very grave weight 
with all serious statesmen and politicians. The fact 
is, as the Duke of Argyll in Great Britain very plainly 
stated, ''no government in the world can afford in 
practise to admit the right of secession of any part or 
portion of the country from its own allegiance." Lord 
Charnwood has put the case in his recent ''Life of 
Abraham Lincoln" with admirable clearness: "At the 
best," he says, "if the States which adhered to the old 
Union had admitted the claim of the first seceding 
States to go, they could only have retained for them- 
selves an insecure existence as a nation, threatened, at 
each fresh conflict of interest or sentiment, with a 
further disruption which could not upon any principle 
have been resisted." A nation must either tend to 



RIGHTS AND WRONGS OF THE WAR 97 

union or to disintegration. The nation which tends to 
union becomes year by year more definitely a single 
coherent whole, the several parts of which are unable 
to regard themselves as existent apart from the general 
commonwealth, any more than the different members 
of the human body can exist independentl»y of the in- 
dividual. Disintegration, on the other hand, once 
commenced, tends to further disintegration at an 
accelerated rate, and the total destruction of the na- 
tional unity is the inevitable consequence. Had the 
North permitted the secession of the South, there was 
no guaranty that this would have involved a final 
settlement or that war might not have broken out at 
some subsequent date between their respective govern- 
ments. In addition to this, the break-up of the 
Union, as Lincoln was not slow to point out, was a 
disaster to a larger cause, the cause of popular self- 
government. If the American Union should prove to 
be a failure, the greatest attempt that had ever been 
made in this direction would be an admitted fiasco and, 
following its failure, the principle of popular self- 
government itself would inevitably receive a severe 
setback throughout the entire world. In fighting for 
the Union, the North was thus fighting for a vital 
principle, the importance of which lay far more in its 
own inherent nature than in any adventitious support 
which it might find in the precise wording of the 
original Constitution of the States. 

With regard to the question of negro slavery, it is 



98 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

rare indeed nowadays to jSnd any one who is willing 
to defend this institution as morally justifiable; but 
it is very common to meet people who will point out 
that the abolition of slavery in certain cases caused 
greater evils than it supprest, and that among the 
negro slaves in the South the acquisition of a freedom 
to which they were not accustomed led, in not a few 
instances, to moral degeneration. In reply to this it 
may be said that no great social revolution can pos- 
sibly be carried through without bringing about certain 
inevitable harmful results. The effect of any vast 
change in the social organism is always to produce 
certain individual cases of injustice or actual moral 
evil; but this must not blind us to the general justice 
and beneficence of the change. No one will dispute 
the fact that there were many honorable and humane 
slave-owners in the South; but it is none the less true 
that they were the instruments of an essentially evil 
and debasing system. The kindness and humanity of 
individual slave-owners was no real compensation for 
this. "Your children," exclaimed Lincoln, ''may play 
with the little black children, but they must not play 
with his" — i. e. the slave-dealer's or the slave-driver's. 
By this fact alone, as Lincoln was shrewd enough to 
point out, every decent man in the South joined in the 
condemnation of the very basis on which slavery rested. 
A stronger point could scarcely have been made. If 
the slave-dealer's trade was an honorable one, why did 
the slave-owner turn his back upon him? 



RIGHTS AND WRONGS OF THE WAR 99 

In those days the work of political propagandism 
was little understood, otherwise it would seem almost 
incredible that the sympathy of the majority of English 
society was on the side of the South. The Englishman, 
however, was dependent on his Press, and in the matter 
of the Press of that day it must be admitted that he 
was not well served. Had it been purely a question of 
a war for the suppression of slavery, British sympathy 
must inevitably have been found on the other side; 
but the issues were confused, and the average man in 
the street was puzzled to know what precisely the 
North was fighting for. That the South was fighting 
for the institution of slavery pure and simple, he posi- 
tively refused to believe, and yet this was most un- 
questionably the case. The sympathy of men Hke 
Gladstone tended to be ever on the side of smaller 
nationaUties, and he mistakenly looked upon the 
secession of the South as a rightful demand on their 
part for self-government according to their own ideas. 
It should also, perhaps, not be forgotten that Glad- 
stone's own immediate ancestors were identified with 
the slave-trade, and it is hardly to be questioned that 
he regarded the institution with more leniency from 
this very cause, Httle though he would have been will- 
ing to admit it even to himself. John Bright, Tenny- 
son, and the Duke of Argyll were among the few 
prominent men in England who consistently defended 
the cause of the North. 



Chapter VIII 

THE GATHERING STORM 

The first consequence of the election of Lincoln as 
President was the convening by the Legislature of 
South Carolina of a specially elected Convention of 
the State to consider the desirability of secession. 
This resulted in the passing on 20th December of a 
definite ordinance of secession. The question then 
arose what other States would follow in South Caro- 
lina's footsteps. Buchanan, as already indicated, was 
still President. He was in his last months of office. 
Never possest of great resolution of character, the 
fact that he would soon again become a private citizen 
deprived him of all moral strength to deal with the 
crisis. No steps were taken by his Government to 
make clear that in the case of the seceding States the 
Government would maintain its rights. In the mean- 
time one State after another was withdrawing from 
the Union, and by February, 1861, Mississippi, Florida, 
Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana had followed the 
example- of South Carolina, and Texas was very shortly 
to follow suit. The representatives of these States 
met together at Montgomery in Alabama to found 

100 



THE GATHERING STORM 101 

what was called the Confederate States. ThevSe States 
were subsequently joined by Virginia, North Caro- 
Hna, Tennessee, and Arkansas; but definite steps were 
not taken by them till after the actual commencement 
of hostilities. By this time the first seceding States 
had already adopted a provisional constitution much 
on the lines of the original Union, and Jefferson Davis 
was duly elected President, with Alexander H. Stephens, 
one of the most moderate men of the party, who was 
specially anxious to avoid war, as Vice-President. In 
his inaugural address the Southern President com- 
plained that the South had been driven to separation 
by wanton aggression on the part of others — a state- 
ment which strikes one as singularly inappHcable to the 
facts of the case. The Southern Congress thereupon 
resolved to take over all forts and pubHc property 
generally in the seceded States. 

Lincoln left Springfield for the last time on 11th 
February, 1861, and took a touching farewell of his 
old friends and neighbors. 

"My friends," he said, "no one not in my situation can 
appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this 
place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. 
Here I have lived for a quarter of a century, and have passed 
from a young to an old man. Here my children have been 
born and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when 
or whether I may ever return, with a task before me greater 
than that which rested upon Washington. Without the 
assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I 
cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail. Trust- 



102 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

ing in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and 
be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will 
yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your 
prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate 
farewell." 

Lincoln may well have felt misgivings as he realized 
the formidable task that lay before him. It was 
becoming daily more and more clear that the Southern 
States would insist on secession, and if the President 
would not consent to this, it followed that war was 
inevitable. Lincoln at the same time, as we have 
seen, was quite unprepared for any compromise. Nor 
would his Northern followers have listened for a mo- 
ment to a step involving the disintegration of the 
Union, however reluctant they might be to taking the 
final plunge. But if he was confronted, as he said, 
''with a task greater than that which rested upon 
Washington," he was to all appearance but little 
qualified for so grave a responsibility. He had had 
none of the previous training and experience which 
might have fitted him for the post. Unlike other mem- 
bers of his Cabinet, he had occupied no prominent re- 
sponsible position. He had made his name solely as a 
public speaker and a party leader. From the point of 
view of the country generally he was *'a dark horse.'* 
Seward, in many ways the Republican party's most 
obvious choice, a man of long political experience and 
training, had been rejected in his favor. It has been 
contended by some that the reason for this lay in the 




THE WHITE liUl>-E E\ CIVIL WAlv TIAIK.^ 




THE CAPITOL WHEN LINCOLN WAS A MEMBER OF CONGRESS 

(1847-49) 

When Lincoln became President, the wings now occupied by the Senate, 
and House of Representatives had recently been completed, but the 
dome, as it now is, was under construction. 



THE GATHERING STORM 103 

fact that on the question of slavery Seward was more 
likely to go to extremes, and Lincoln was regarded as 
the more cautious and prudent of the two. Lincoln, 
however, was a man who had never compromised on 
a matter of vital principle, and there is every reason 
to believe that when it came to an issue of peace and 
war, Seward would have done so. At the final crisis 
rather than engage in civil war, Seward actually sug- 
gested embroiling his country in a foreign quarrel 
— a truly desperate means of meeting a desperate 
emergency. 

The rise of Lincoln from the position of a prominent 
public speaker to that of President w^as, indeed, un- 
precedented; yet undoubtedly events had been moving 
towards such a denouement, and there is little doubt 
that Lincoln, with his customary far-sightedness, did 
not fail to realize the fact. He had been, in short, the 
protagonist in the anti-slavery campaign. He was 
the one popular figure that overtopped all the others 
in this great movement. He was, moreover, in spite 
of the boldness of some of the quoted observations in 
his speeches, known for the essential moderation of his 
attitude. He would have nothing to do with the 
Abolitionists. He would have nothing to do with 
any measures which withdrew from the slave-owning 
States any of the rights which they possest under 
the Union. He was not wilUng even to abolish the 
Fugitive Slave Law, tho he favored its amendment. 
He went out of his way to assure the Southern States 



104 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

that they had nothing to fear from his appointment 
as President. Why, then, it may be asked, did they 
revolt? Lord Charnwood, in his '^Life of Abraham 
Lincohi," makes some very interesting observations 
on this point : — 

"It is common," he says, "to reproach the SoutheiD 
leaders with reckless folly. They tried to destroy the 
Union, which they really valued, for the sake of slavery, 
which they valued more; they in fact destroyed slavery; 
and they did this, it is said, in alarm at an imaginary danger. 
This is not a true ground of reproach to them. It is true 
that the danger to slavery from the election of Lincoln was 
not immediately pressing. He neither would have done 
nor could have done more than prevent during his four 
years of office any new acquisition of territory to the slave- 
holding interest, and impose his veto on any Bill extending 
slavery^ within the existing territory of the Union. His 
successor after four years might or might not have been like- 
minded. He did not seem to stand for any overwhelming 
force in American politics; there was a majority opposed to 
him in both Houses of Congress; a great majority of the 
Supreme Court, which might have an important part to 
play, held views of the Constitution opposed to his; he had 
been elected by a minority only of the whole American 
people. Why could not the Southern States have sat still, 
secure that no great harm would happen to their institution 
for the present, and hoping that their former ascendency 
would come back to them with the changing fortunes of 
party strife?" 

Lord Charnwood replies to these apparently very 
cogent objections that in the South slavery had come 
to be regarded as a national and indeed almost a divine 



THE GATHERING STORM 105 

institution. The Southerner was determined to hand 
it down to his children's children. The North had 
voted slavery to be a crime, and their new President 
had put the matter without mincing: "That if slavery- 
was not wrong, nothing was wrong." It was certain 
that America would never go back to the position 
which she occupied before this first explicit national 
assertion of the wrongfulness of slavery had been made. 
If the Southern States were not to secede, they must 
make up their minds to remain the fellow countrymen 
of a people who regarded their fundamental institution 
with "growing reprobation." "Lincoln decided that 
'this Government cannot endure permanently half slave 
and half free.' Lincoln was right, and so, from their 
own point of view, that of men not brave or wise enough 
to take in hand a difficult social reform, were the leaders 
who declared immediately for secession." 

This doubtless gives clearly enough the point of 
view of the South. They were not willing to wait for 
a possible swing of the political pendulum; they were 
not prepared to "wait and see." They had compelled 
the North to compromise with its convictions time after 
time, and now that they saw that there was to be no 
further question of compromise, they, on their part, 
were determined not to recede. A man who, by force 
of threats, is able to get his own way again and again, 
and is suddenly brought up against a point-blank 
refusal to yield further ground, will generally rather 
fight than give up his point. With a man who has been 



106 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

met firmly from the first it is otherwise. This was 
precisely the position where the Southern States were 
concerned. Each time a concession had been made 
to them they had grown more determined and more 
confident in their own standpoint. It was too late 
for compromise when at length the North said to 
them, ''Hold! enough!'' Whether they were right 
from their own point of view, as Lord Charnwood 
thinks, it is very difficult to decide. 

It is clear that they might have taken another course 
altogether, which would have prevented the election of 
Lincoln as President. They might, that is to say, have 
decided to support Douglas instead of putting up a 
slavery candidate for the Presidency, thereby dividing 
the voting power of the Democratic party. Douglas 
then would almost inevitably have been elected. Had 
this happened, the Slave States would have certainly 
been in no worse position than they were under the 
preceding Presidency of Buchanan. The conclusion 
is forced upon us that if they had been willing to con- 
tinue anything in the nature of a compromise with the 
North, they might have done so without any fear of 
aggressive action against their own interests. They 
had, it is plain, determined to force matters to an issue, 
feeling doubtless that compromise was no permanent 
solution, and that Slave States and Free States could 
not remain forever under a single government. The 
recognition of this attitude of mind on the part of the 
South was doubtless what prompted Lincoln to say 



THE GATHERING STORM 107 

that the Government "could not endure permanently 
half slave and half free." The crisis, in short, might 
well have been tided over for the time, and probably for 
a considerable period; but it was bound to arrive, and 
would have to be faced eventually. 

Lincoln reached Washington at the end of February, 
after a journey the latter part of which was rendered 
noteworthy by the receipt of news of a plot to assassi- 
nate both the President himself and other members of 
his Cabinet in passing through Baltimore. In order to 
avoid the danger, he suddenly and unexpectedly left 
Harrisburg, where he had been staying the night, in 
company with Colonel Lamon, and was driven to a 
special train which was waiting for him on the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad. At the same time the telegraph wires 
were cut, so that in the event of his departure being 
discovered, intelligence could not be communicated. 
At 10.30 the train reached Philadelphia, where Lincoln 
was met by a detective, who had a carriage waiting 
in which the party were driven to the depot of the 
Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railway. 
They there took berths in a sleeping-car, and passed 
without change through Baltimore to Washington, 
where Lincoln arrived at 6.30 one morning at the end of 
February, 1861. He was driven thence to Willard's 
Hotel, where he found Senator Stuart expecting him, 
and where he remained until the departure of the out- 
going President from the White House. 

During all this time, owing to the dominant in- 



108 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

fiuence of Southern sympathizers in Buchanan's Cab- 
inet, the Northern States were being stripped of arms 
and ammunition, and quantities of miUtary stores were 
being sent south, without any interference on the part 
of the President. MiUtary posts in the Southern States 
were at the same time being placed under the command 
of officers hostile to the Union. Lincoln warned Gen- 
eral Scott of the situation, and intimated that it might 
be necessary shortly to take steps to recover such forts 
on behalf of the Federal Government, pressing him to 
take such measures as were possible in the meantime 
to render this practicable. On 4th March, 1861, the 
outgoing President arrived in his carriage to escort 
his successor to the Capitol, where the Oath of Alle- 
giance to the Constitution was administered to him 
by Chief Justice Taney. Here he delivered his inaug- 
ural speech as President, while Douglas, his defeated 
rival, stood by his side taking charge of his hat and 
cane while he delivered his address. 

The speech had been drawn up with great care, and 
every effort had been made to rob it of any appearance 
of aggressiveness towards the South. Originally writ- 
ten by Lincoln in his customary manner on scraps of 
paper and the backs of envelops, it was to some extent 
revised and modified by Seward, whose suggestions 
were in the main adopted by the President. It set out 
the position of the Government on the slavery con- 
troversy in a manner calculated to avoid arousing any 
feelings of resentment on the part of the opposition. 



THE GATHERING STORM 109 

It strongly emphasized the indissoluble character of the 
Union, and announced the decision of the Government 
to maintain this Union in the face of all attempts to 
undermine it. "The power/' said Lincoln, ''conferred 
on me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the 
property and places belonging to the Government and 
to collect the duties on imports. But beyond what 
may be necessary for these objects there will be no 
invasion, no using of force against or among the people 
anywhere." "In your hands," he concluded, "my dis- 
satisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the 
momentous issue of civil war. The Government will 
not assault you. You can have no conflict without 
being yourselves the aggressors. . . . The mystic 
chords of memory stretching from every battle-field 
and patriot grave to every loving hearth and hearth- 
stone all over this broad land will yet swell the chorus 
of union when again touched, as surely they will be, 
by the better angels of our nature." 



Chapter IX 

LINCOLN AND HIS CABINET 

Lincoln had for some time past been busily occupied 
in the construction of his Cabinet, which he was de- 
sirous should represent as far as possible various shades 
of opinion in the new Republican party with repre- 
sentatives from the Democratic party who were known 
as Union men, and afterwards as War Democrats. 
Tho he had full knowledge of the political ante- 
cedents of the men he selected, his personal knowledge 
of them was limited to not more than three or four. 
They did not prove in the upshot by any means a happy 
family, and personal antagonisms and rivalries showed 
themselves almost from the very first. Among his 
first selections were his own rivals for the Presidency, 
including Seward, of New York; Chase, of Ohio; 
and Cameron, of Pennsylvania. It was most im- 
portant for Lincoln to secure the adhesion of Seward, 
who became Secretary of State, and tho he was 
within an ace of withdrawing his acceptance, he 
proved in the end Lincoln's most loyal and stanch 
supporter. Between Seward and Chase there was no 
love lost. Chase represented the more radical wing 

110 



LINCOLN AND HIS CABINET 111 

of the Cabinet, while Seward represented the more con- 
servative elements. Chase became Secretary of the 
Treasury, a position for which he was singularly well 
fitted; Bates, Attorney-General; and Cameron, for a 
time. Secretary for War. To these were subsequently 
added Caleb Smith, of New York, as Secretary of the 
Interior; Gideon Welles, of Connecticut, Secretary of 
the Navy; and Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, as 
Postmaster-General . 

Cameron, as already intimated, did not remain long 
in the Cabinet, his business incapacity rendering his 
retention impossible. Before the first year of Lincoln's 
administration had closed, he was replaced by a much 
abler man, a lawyer of note, in the person of Edwin M. 
Stanton. Stanton was a Democrat, but strongly anti- 
slavery. His chief drawback was his violent temper 
and his overbearing manner towards all and sundry. 
The stories told of Lincoln's tact in dealing with this 
very difficult colleague are innumerable. He had al- 
ready been warned, when he first contemplated Stan- 
ton's appointment, of the man's ungovernable temper 
and the trouble that was likely to arise in the Cabinet 
in consequence. One of his friends, in protesting 
against the appointment on these grounds, urged that 
Stanton, when beside himself with rage, was in the 
habit of jumping up and down in his excitement. 
Lincoln replied: ''Well, if he gets to jumping too much 
we will treat him as they used to treat a minister I 
knew out West. He would get so excited and wrought 



112 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

up at revival meetings that they had to put bricks in 
his pockets to keep him down." "But," he added, "I 
guess we will let Stanton jump awhile first." 

The difficulties and disputes that arose through the 
addition of this new member of the Cabinet proved not 
to have been overestimated; but in Lincoln's view, 
and doubtless it was a correct one, his efficiency as 
Secretary for War more than counterbalanced them. 
He had, however, as little respect for Lincoln himself 
as for any other member of the Cabinet. On one 
occasion a committee of Western men, headed by a 
certain Mr. Lovejoy, procured from the President an 
important order providing for the exchange of Eastern 
and Western soldiers during the war, with a view to 
more effective work. This was quite contrary to 
Stanton's ideas, and he put his foot down emphatically 
on the new order. The story runs that, armed with the 
document bearing the President's own signature. Love- 
joy betook himself to the Secretary for War, and ap- 
prized him of the decision that had been arrived at. 
It is perhaps hardly to be wondered at that Stanton 
resented outside interference with the management of 
his own special department. In any case he was 
beside himself with rage. On hearing the scheme ex- 
plained to him he flatly refused to carry it out. "But," 
remonstrated Lovejoy, "we have the President's own 
order." "Did Lincoln give you an order of that kind?'* 
asked Stanton. "He did, sir." "Then," exclaimed 
the irate Secretary, "he is a damned fool/' "Do you 



LINCOLN AND HIS CABINET 113 

mean to say that the President is a damned fool?" 
exclaimed Lovejoy, in amazement. ''Yes, sir," re- 
torted Stanton, "if he gave you such an order as that." 
The astounded Congressman betook himself at once to 
the President and narrated the result of his conference, 
repeating the conversation in detail. ''Did Stanton 
say I was a damned fool?" asked Lincoln, at the close 
of the recital. "He did, sir, and repeated it." After 
a moment's pause, the President looked up and said: 
"If Stanton said I was a damned fool, then I must be 
one, for he is nearly always right, and he generally saj^s 
what he means. I will step over and see him." 

On one occasion (in 1863) Dennis Hanks, Lincoln's 
boyhood friend and cousin, called to see him at the 
White House. His mission brought him in contact 
with the Secretary for War, who was determined — and 
apparently quite rightly — not to accede to his request, 
which had reference to the release of some soldiers 
who had brought about a riot at Charleston, in which 
several citizens had met their deaths. Stanton was 
greatly incensed at Hanks' intervention, and expressed 
the view that ^' every damned one of them should be 
hung." Dennis took away a decidedly unfavorable rec- 
ollection of the Secretary for War, whom he described 
as a "frisky little Yankee with a short coat-tail." "I 
asked Abe," he informed Herndon in confidence, "why 
he did not kick him out. I told him he was too 'fresh' 
altogether." Lincoln's answer was : " If I did, Dennis, it 
would be difficult to find another man to fill his place." 



114 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

Chase, the Secretary of the Treasury, was another 
member of his Cabinet with whom Lincoln had constant 
trouble, and for whose behavior he throughout showed 
the most uniform forbearance. Lincoln quite rightly 
had the highest opinion of Chase's financial abilities, 
but the Secretary of the Treasury had it so firmly fixed 
in his own mind that he was the most competent mem- 
ber of the Cabinet that it was diflScult to retain him in 
office without constant and continual friction. Chase, 
in the first instance, was one of the foremost supporters 
of General M'Clellan, and subsequently was the most 
bitter of all in his denunciation of his dilatory tactics. 
He was perhaps the foremost supporter of negro eman- 
cipation in the Cabinet, and would have gladly seen 
the proposal put into force at an earlier date than 
Lincoln thought prudent. At a later date the critics 
of the Cabinet found a ready sympathizer in Chase, 
who was never tired of expressing very decided views 
as to his own capacity and their incompetence. Finally 
he entered into an intrigue to supplant Lincoln in the 
Presidency, in spite of which Lincoln still retained him 
in ofiice. In reply to his friends who complained of his 
overlooking the hostile attitude of one of his own 
colleagues, "I have determined," he said, 'Ho shut 
my eyes as far as possible to everything of the sort. 
Mr. Chase makes a good Secretary, and I shall keep him 
where he is. If he becomes President, all right. I 
hope we may never have a worse man.'' Eventually 
his retention as a member of the Cabinet became no 



LINCOLN AND HIS CABINET 115 

longer practicable. He interfered in other people's 
departments until the President found it impossible to 
reconcile their differences. Finally he sent in his 
resignation, fully expecting it to be refused. Lincoln 
replied in accepting it: ''Of all I have said in commen- 
dation of your ability and fidelity I have nothing to 
unsay, yet you and I have reached a point of mutual 
embarrassment in our official relations which it seems 
cannot be overcome or longer sustained consistently 
with the public service." Lincoln's magnanimity 
towards the man who had so constantly traduced and 
intrigued against him went so far as to grant him the 
appointment of Chief Justice when this fell vacant, 
greatly to the surprise of Chase's friends, who could 
not believe his unfriendly attitude would have been so 
readily forgiven. 

This action was singularly characteristic. Lincoln's 
failure, indeed, to bear ill-will against those who had 
done him an injury seemed to many almost to amount 
to a fault, and it was complained of him, not without 
some show of justification, that he was more generous 
to his enemies than to his friends. Lincoln hoped, in 
the formation of his Cabinet, to conciliate the largest 
possible amount of public opinion. In this he was 
successful, but his selection had the corresponding dis- 
advantage of bringing together a number of men whose 
views on most political questions were remarkably 
divergent. This has always been one of the draw- 
backs of a CoaUtion Cabinet — the more sections you 



116 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

conciliate, the more internal discord there must be 
within the circle of the Cabinet. As one who knew 
Lincoln well (Leonard Swett) observed with regard to 
him, after his death: ''An adhesion of all forces was 
indispensable to his success, and the success of the 
country. Hence he husbanded his means with the 
greatest nicety of calculation. Adhesion was what he 
wanted. He used every force to the best possible 
advantage. He never wasted anything, and would 
always give more to his enemies than he would to 
his friends. And the reason was that he never had 
anything to spare, and in the close calculation of 
attaching the factions to him he counted upon the 
abstract affection of his friends as an element to be 
offset against some gift with which he must appease 
his enemies. ... In his conduct of the war he acted 
upon the theory that but one thing was necessary, and 
that was a united North. He had all shades of senti- 
ments and opinions to deal with, and the consideration 
was always presented to his mind, 'How can I hold 
these discordant elements together?'" Lincoln's tact 
and conciliatory demeanor were successful in accom- 
plishing this, and he rightly realized that it was a 
condition precedent to winning the war. 

In view of recent discussions in England as to the 
number of members required to form an efficient War 
Cabinet, it will be observed that the number of Lin- 
coln's Cabinet was eight. It was complained to him 
when he first made his appointments that he included 



LINCOLN AND HIS CABINET 117 

four Democrats and only three Republicans. His reply- 
to this was that he himself was a RepubUcan, and that 
he ''hoped it might be possible for him to be present 
not infrequently at the Cabinet's dehberations, and 
thus redress the balance!" One can scarcely believe 
that even Lincoln's tact would have been equal to the 
task of efficiently carrying on with a Cabinet of twenty- 
two, especially if the relations of the remaining fourteen 
had been as difficult of adjustment as those of the 
ministers actually appointed. 

Of the other members of the Cabinet, Montgomery 
Blair, of Maryland, the new Postmaster-General, repre- 
sented the Border State aristocracy, and was one of the 
founders of the Republican party. He had been 
solicitor of the Court of Claims under the late President 
Buchanan, who had removed him from office on ac- 
count of his opposition to the repeal of the Missouri 
Compromise. He was a useful member of the Cabinet 
and a stanch supporter of Lincoln himself, and favored 
generally a bold and energetic policy — too bold, fre- 
quently, for the President's cautious temper. He had, 
however, many enemies, and was constantly coming 
into collision with both Stanton and Seward. He was 
reluctant to adopt the Emancipation Proclamation, 
for fear that it would drive the Border States over to 
the Confederacy, and on this account was one of the 
members of the Cabinet who stood out against it to 
the last. In 1864, when the war was drawing to a close, 
he was anxious to secure a compromise with the South, 



118 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

and being on friendly terms with a number of the lead- 
ing Southern pohticians, believed that the opening of 
negotiations through his means would lead to some 
practical result. When his views on this matter be- 
came known they led to a measure of alarm on the 
part of those who realized the danger of an inconclusive 
peace. President Lincoln allowed Blair to see what he 
could do in the matter, but gave him no official au- 
thority as a negotiator and had no faith in the utility 
of his mission, which eventually came to nothing. 
Lincoln doubtless felt that this was the best way of 
satisfying Blair of the fact that he was laboring under 
a delusion. 

In spite of his quarrels with other members of the 
Administration, and his suspicions of the motives of 
many leading members of the Republican party, which 
he was never tired of insinuating to the President him- 
self, Blair remained a member of the Cabinet for up- 
wards of three years. He had always assured the 
President, in view of the disputes with his colleagues, 
that he would be pleased to resign his position in case 
the difficulties arising from his retention proved too 
great an embarrassment to Lincoln. Finally Lincoln 
felt himself compelled to accept this offer of with- 
drawal, rather than continue a state of affairs in which 
constant friction seemed inevitable. In writing to ask 
him to resign Lincoln observed: '^You know very well 
that this request proceeds from no dissatisfaction of 
mine with you personally or officially. Your uniform 



LINCOLN AND HIS CABINET 119 

kindness has been unsurpassed by that of any other 
friend." After his resignation Blair's loyalty to Lin- 
coln continued unabated, and he took the field on his 
behalf during the campaign for his reelection. 

Not the least capable member of the Administration 
was Gideon Welles, of Connecticut, Secretary of the 
Navy. Lincoln first met Gideon Welles in a purely 
accidental manner, after a speech he had been deliver- 
ing at Hartford, Connecticut, in the spring of 1860. 
William Eleroy Curtis ^ narrates the story of their first 
meeting: — 

''As he approached his hotel, Lincoln stepped into a book- 
stall, where a gentleman who had been in his audience the 
evening before approached and introduced himself. There 
seemed to be a mutual attraction, and for two hours they 
discussed various subjects of interest — politics, law, and 
literature. The next time they met was after the Chicago 
Convention, to which Mr. Welles was a delegate, and during 
the Campaign they exchanged frequent letters, until Lincoln 
was thoroughly convinced of the fitness, availability, and 
character of the Connecticut lawyer for a position in his 
Cabinet. The special knowledge of maritime law shown 
by the latter seems to have suggested his assignment to the 
Navy Department." 

The Navy played a most important, tho for long 
periods a silent part in the conduct of the war. The 
eventual effect of the Northern campaign was to cut off 
the South from its resources, and the command of the 

i"The True Abraham Lincoln," p. 196. 



120 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

sea, which was secured early in the war by the North, 
necessarily contributed in no small degree to this end. 
As Lord Charnwood well says : " The subj ugation of the 
South began by a process necessarily slow and much 
interrupted, whereby, having been blockaded by sea, 
it was surrounded by land, cut off from its Western 
territory, and deprived of its main internal lines of com- 
munication." Gideon Welles and his able heutenant. 
Fox, deserve no small measure of credit for bringing 
about this result. Welles himself was a man of great 
decision of character and executive ability, but his re- 
lations with Seward, with whom he came into collision 
through the latter's interfersnce in naval affairs, were 
one more source of constant friction in the Cabinet. 
In spite of this, both retained their posts until Lin- 
coln's death. 



Chapter X 

THE WAR 

The first news that reached Lincoln immediately after 
the inauguration was that Fort Sumter, off Charleston, 
on the coast of South Carolina, would be forced to 
capitulate to the Southern forces unless promptly re- 
inforced and re victualed. The majority of the Cab- 
inet were opposed to taking definite steps in the matter. 
General Winfield Scott being questioned on the military 
position, had given it as his opinion that the fort 
should be evacuated. The opponents of its retention 
argued that the blame lay with the outgoing adminis- 
tration, who had not taken steps in time. 

Lincoln was most anxious to avoid anything in the 
nature of provocation. Finally, after some hesitation, 
he decided to give instructions to revictual the fort, 
but not to send troops. It was, however, already too 
late. Beauregard, the Southern general, received or- 
ders to reduce the fort, and smnmoned Anderson, who 
was in command, to surrender. Anderson, now almost 
starved out, replied that unless he received supplies 
and instructions he would surrender on 15th April. 
How it happened is not known, whether by accident 

121 



122 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

or through intention to offer definite provocation, but, 
in spite of Anderson's reply, the Confederate batteries 
opened fire on 12th April. Fort Sumter became im- 
mediately untenable. Anderson capitulated and 
marched out on Sunday, 14th April, with the honors 
of war. The South had now definitely assumed the 
offensive, and in reply to the challenge the North 
sprang to arms. 

It is surely well for the world in general that in cer- 
tain grave crises of its history the immediate future is 
hidden by an impenetrable veil. The Northern States 
when they engaged in the conflict never dreamed of the 
gravity of the task that lay before them. Many be- 
lieved that the war would be over in a few short months. 
Few suspected that it would outlast a year. The idea 
that it might conceivably endure for four whole years 
was nowhere entertained as within the bounds of pos- 
sibility. In this respect there lies a very close parallel 
between the war between North and South and the 
great World War. Would England, one may well 
ask, have stept into the breach had the Cabinet of 
the day realized what was before them? That they 
would have been well advised to do so in any case 
there can be no doubt, but that they would have ven- 
tured to face so stupendous a task seems in the highest 
degree unlikely. 

In both cases the marked superiority of one side in 
material resources and in the number of men at their 
disposal seemed to render impossible any doubt as to 



THE WAR 123 

the ultimate result. Surprize in each case was felt at 
the confidence of the enemy in their own power, and, 
as it seemed, their rashness in defying the heavy odds 
against them. In both cases these calculations proved 
to have overlooked vital factors m the situation. At 
the time of the outbreak of the Civil War in America, 
the North had more than double the population of the 
South, and of this Southern population a considerable 
portion were slaves who, it was known, could not be 
enhsted. The North, again, was far richer in material 
resources and soon found itself in a position to drive the 
Southern fleet from the seas. On the other hand, the 
objects of the war imposed upon the North a far 
greater task than devolved upon the South. AU the 
South required to do was to retain and defend its own 
territory. If the Union were to be maintained, the 
North must not merely win isolated battles, but must 
completely subjugate the Southern territory. The 
South, again, was much better situated with a view 
to defense than the North. It could operate on 
interior Unes, and the Confederacy could hardly be 
gravely weakened by the occupation by the North of 
any important strategic centers. 

At the commencement of the war neither side possest 
an army of any consequence, the actual army in the 
service of the United States as a whole then consisting 
of only 16,000 officers and men. The armies with 
which the war was eventually fought out had to be 
called up and trained while the campaign was in prog- 



124 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

ress. The Southerner, who had Hved a more outdoor Ufe 
than his Northern neighbor, probably took more readily 
to the pursuit of arms. One factor above all others 
helped the South the first half of the campaign to an 
extent that can hardly be overestimated, and this was 
perhaps more due to pure luck than to any more 
definite cause. While the North was seeking in vain 
for two long years for some one who might be qualified 
to command its armies and lead it to victory, the South 
commenced its campaigns under the generalship of 
Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson, whose efficiency as com- 
manders in the field was never in doubt or question. 
Lee, indeed, was opposed to the war from the com- 
mencement, and it was only with much reluctance that 
he sided with the South. Of Lee's preeminent military 
qualifications there can be no doubt, and the late Lord 
Wolseley was inclined to write them higher than those 
of Moltke. General Scott, on the other hand, who 
was put in command of the Northern forces, was 
obviously from the first too old and infirm for his very 
arduous duties, and his successor, George B. M'Clellan, 
on whom the greatest hopes had been placed, in spite 
of his ample opportunities, did little to justify them. 
It is hardly open to doubt that Lincoln retained him in 
command long after his incapacity had become obvious. 
He labored, however, under the disadvantage of not 
knowing whom to put in his place, and hesitated to 
dismiss a man who, at least during the earlier part of 
the war, had become a sort of popular idol. M'Clellan, 



THE WAR 125 

indeed, took over the command of the Northern armies 
amid a burst of popular applause and enthusiasm. He 
appeared to the man in the street to be the heaven- 
sent savior of the popular cause, while in reality 
possessing nothing more startling than a genius for 
popularity, a certain capacity for organization, and a 
confidence in his own abilities which was far from 
justified. 

On the day after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, 
Lincoln issued a proclamation calling upon the States 
of the North to furnish 75,000 men for the suppression 
of an unlawful combination. So unfitted was the Con- 
stitution to cope with the situation created by the 
Civil War, that the law actually did not empower the 
President to call out the militia, for such it was, for a 
longer period than three months. This proclamation 
was, accordingly, shortly followed by another, appeal- 
ing for volunteers to enlist for three years' service. 

The first incident in the war was the Battle of Bull 
Run, which involved a somewhat serious reverse for 
the forces of the North. The Southern army, under 
General Beauregard, lay near Bull Run River, some 
twenty miles from Washington, covering the railway 
junction of Manassas on the line to Richmond, the 
Southern capital. General Scott was unwilling to 
attack, owing to the unpreparedness of the Northern 
forces, but there was a very general demand on the 
part of the North for action to be taken, and the 
Cabinet was anxious to gain an early victory for po- 



126 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

litical reasons. General Patterson was at this time 
opposing a Southern force in the Shenandoah Valley. 
The plan was for General M'Dowell to attack the Con- 
federates at Manassas, while Patterson prevented John- 
ston's army from joining Beauregard. Patterson, how- 
ever, conspicuously failed to do this. The result was 
that M'Dowell found himself confronted with the con- 
joined Southern armies. Both sides of course con- 
sisted of untrained levies. The attempt to drive 
Beauregard from the position he had occupied proved 
too much for M'Dowell, and in the upshot the Northern 
soldiers retreated in disorder, and, in fact, in some- 
thing of a panic. Johnston, however, who now took 
over the command of the Southern forces, did not feel 
himself in a position to fallow up the results of his 
victory, and the military outcome of the engagement 
was not of great practical consequence. It had the 
effect, however, of rudely shattering the confidence 
of the North, and in this way had a salutary effect 
in leading to much more energetic measures than had 
hitherto been taken. Scott blamed himself bitterly 
for consenting to act against his better judgment, and 
Lincoln himself seems to have felt that the commander 
was to a great extent responsible for the reverse through 
declining to insist on his views in a stronger manner. 
This preliminary engagement was followed by a long 
period of inactivity on both sides as far as the actual 
fighting was concerned, both combatants being engaged 
in organizing their respective armies in view of the 




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THE WAR 127 

coming struggle. Neither clearly felt that it was in 
a position to strike anything in the nature of a decisive 
blow. The lack of military discipline, as was not 
surprizing under the circumstances, was a grave ob- 
stacle on both sides. 

Not long after this, in November, 1861, General 
Scott surrendered his command, which was conferred, 
as above stated, on General M'Clellan. His first and, 
as it proved in the upshot, his most useful work was the 
organization of the army of the North. He certainly 
showed no anxiety to repeat the blunder of launching 
into hostilities with untrained troops, and, indeed, 
rather went to the other extreme, always tending to 
exaggerate the number of the enemy opposed to him, 
and fearing to engage them without vastly superior 
forces. The early part of the following year brought 
about a recommencement of hostilities, and the North- 
ern arms were generally successful in the West. Ken- 
tucky, till now a debatable ground between the two 
armies, was secured for the cause of the North. The 
Federal gunboats pushed up the Tennessee and Cum- 
berland rivers into the State of Kentucky, took Fort 
Henry, on the 6th February, and, with the aid of the 
land forces under General Grant, occupied also Fort 
Donelson, 16th February, capturing some 10,000 
prisoners. Following on this, Nashville, the capital 
of Tennessee, surrendered to the Northern army on the 
23rd of the same month. 

Further progress was made down the Mississippi, 



128 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

the greater part of Missouri being cleared of the enemy, 
and the troops of the Union advancing into Arkansas, 
where a battle was fought at Pea Ridge, which ter- 
minated in the complete rout of the Southern forces. 
Finally Admiral Farragut, advancing to the mouths of 
the Mississippi, after six days' bombardment captm-ed 
New Orleans on 28th April. 

Meanwhile, from 21st July, 1861 (the date of the 
battle of Bull xiun), to March, 1862, the main army 
of the North continued to remain on the Potomac op- 
posed to the Southern army of Joseph E. Johnston, 
which was drilhng at Manassas. Further troops were 
constantly being sent to reinforce M'Clellan, whose 
army by October amounted to 147,000 men, whereas 
Johnston had barely 47,000 under his command. 
Johnston was naturally expecting M'Clellan to attack, 
and there was danger of his right flank being 
turned and his railway communications cut. Finally, 
in February, as his position became too precarious, 
he retreated unmolested behind the Rapidan River, 
thirty miles farther south. No attempt whatever was 
made by M'Clellan to molest him, and great surprize 
and annoyance were felt in the North that what ap- 
peared to be an excellent opportunity had been missed. 
M'Clellan seems to have been under a total misappre- 
hension as to the forces of the enemy, whose numbers 
he had exaggerated in his own mind. Lincoln, over and 
over again, urged him to attack, but all to no purpose. 
All M'Clellan could be induced to do was to abuse 



THE WAR 129 

the Government for incompetence, and to demand 
further reinforcements. On 27th Januaiy Lincoln pul)- 
Hshed a general War Order in his capacity of Com- 
mander-in-Chief for a forward movement of the army 
on the Potomac. For a moment M'Clellan made up his 
mind to carry out Lincoln's instructions, and then 
changed it again. Finally, a decision was arrived at 
to land troops at Fort Monroe, which lies at the end 
of the peninsula that juts out between the estuaries of 
the York and James rivers. 

On 2nd April M'Clellan himself landed, and the 
Peninsula Campaign, which it was anticipated would 
end in the capture of Richmond, was commenced. 
M'Dowell was retained by Lincoln's orders with a force 
sufficient for the defense of Washington, greatly, as it 
appears, to M'Clellan's annoyance. M'Clellan com- 
menced his expedition in command of 100,000 men, and 
40,000 more troops were subsequently dispatched to 
him. After he had been some two months in the 
peninsula, making gradual progress, he was unexpect- 
edly attacked by Joseph Johnston, but defeated him on 
31st May. A portion of his army pursued the enemy 
to within four miles of Richmond, and it was contended 
that by a rapid movement M'Clellan might have cap- 
tured the city; but rapidity of movement was never one 
of his strong points. Stonewall Jackson was now ma- 
king a movement with a Southern army which threat- 
ened the position of Washington, and Lincoln, who had 
decided to send M'Dowell to reinforce M'Clellan, felt 



130 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

himself compelled to abandon the idea. M'Clellan's 
advance on Richmond was, however, slowly progressing. 
A series of battles took place (26th June to 2nd July) 
between his forces and those of General Lee, of a some- 
what indecisive character. M'Clellan's left wing even- 
tually succeeded in winning a strong position over- 
looking Richmond, but in the upshot he found his right 
flank threatened by reinforcements which had reached 
the Southern army, and came to the conclusion that 
his position was a perilous one. On 2nd July he with- 
drew his whole force to Harrison's Landing, some way 
up the James estuary, having, with the cooperation of 
the navy, effected a transfer of his base. 

M'Clellan now advised Lincoln that in order to cap- 
ture Richmond he must have further large reinforce- 
ments. This meant withdrawing a considerable por- 
tion of the army which was defending Washington. 
The alternative was retreat. After careful considera- 
tion, Lincoln decided to instruct M'Clellan to with- 
draw altogether from the peninsula. M'Clellan's army 
was transferred to General Pope, who was in charge 
©f the defense of Washington. Pope himself, now in 
command of some 150,000 men, pushed forward into 
Virginia. Opposed to him was Lee, with probably not 
more than 55,000 men. In face of this vast superiority 
Lee boldly divided his forces and sent Jackson with 
one portion of them by a circuitous route to cut Pope's 
communications with Washington. On 29th- 30th 
August Pope turned on Lee in the ill-omened neigh- 



THE WAR 131 

borhood of Bull Run, and sustained a heavy defeat, 
in spite of his numerical superiority. Pope himself, 
abandoning hope, begged to be withdrawn within the 
defenses of the capital, and was relieved of his com- 
mand. Lincoln now directed M'Clellan to take com- 
mand. Information accidentally reached M'Clellan of 
Lee's movements, and had he taken advantage of it, he 
could have crushed Lee's and Jackson's armies in 
detail. He was, however, too slow. They were al- 
lowed to join forces once more, and the Northern army 
came up with them near the Antietam Creek, a tribu- 
tary of the Potomac, some sixty miles northwest of 
Washing*ton. Battles took place on the 14th and 17th 
September between the two armies, first at South 
Mountain and then at Antietam. 

In the latter battle both sides lost very heavily, 
but the Southern army found itself compelled to re- 
treat, which it did unmolested into Virginia. Lin- 
coln issued instructions to M'Clellan to follow up this 
partial success and cross the Potomac in pursuit. He 
declined to do so, thus allowing a golden opportunity 
of striking a decisive blow to pass by, and was there- 
upon superseded by General Burnside. This change in 
the command did not, however, turn the tide in favor 
of the North. Burnside met with a severe reverse 
before the Confederate works of Fredericksburg on 13th 
December, and this was followed by a fresh withdrawal 
of the Northern army beyond the Rappahannock. 
Sherman, too, met with a defeat before Vicksburg on 



132 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

26th to 29th December. Holly Springs, Mississippi, 
was surrendered to the Confederates, 19th December, 
with a large accumulation of stores; and General 
Grant, in consequence, found himself compelled to fall 
back, being prevented from joining hands, as he had 
hoped, with General Sherman. Meanwhile General 
Foster had met with a measure of success in North 
Carolina, and the battle of Murfreesborough (in Ten- 
nessee), after continuing from 31st December to 4th 
January, resulted in a victory for the Federal arms, 
General M'Cook, in command of the Southern forces, 
being compelled to beat a hasty retreat. 



Chapter XI 

NEGRO EMANCIPATION— THE TURN OF 
THE TIDE 

While the fortunes of war were thus fluctuating, and 
while the prospect of a speedy victory for the North 
was becoming month by month more remote, the agi- 
tation for negro emancipation was steadily gaining 
ground. The President was being constantly beset 
by deputations and by individual men of influence 
and repute, who prest upon him the necessity for 
a proclamation of emancipation. On the 13th Septem- 
ber, 1862, he received a deputation on the subject from 
all the religious denominations in Chicago. Some of 
the ministers in this deputation even went so far as to 
assure him that they had authority from heaven to 
command him in God's name to emancipate the slaves. 
In reply Lincoln told them that he was ''approached 
with the most opposite opinions and advice, and that 
by religious men who are equally certain that they 
represent the divine will." He was (he said) sure that 
either one or other class was mistaken in that behef, 

and perhaps in some respects both. "I hope" (he 

133 



134 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

continued) "that it will not be irreverent for me to say 
that if it is probable that God would reveal his will 
to others on a point so connected with my duty, it 
might be supposed He would reveal it directly to me. 
I do not" (he proceeded) "want to issue a document 
that the whole world will see must necessarily be 
inoperative, like the Pope's Bull against the comet. 
Now, do not misunderstand me because I have men- 
tioned these objections. They indicate difficulties that 
have thus far prevented me acting in some way such 
as you desire. I have not decided against a proclama- 
tion of liberty to the slaves, but hold the matter under 
advisement, and I can assure you that the subject is 
on my mind by day and night more than any other. 
Whatever shall appear to be God's will, I will do." 

Lincoln's view was that it was his first duty to save 
the Union, and not either to save or destroy slavery. 
It was, however, steadily becoming clearer to him that, 
quite apart from his anxiety to solve the slave problem, 
the saving of the Union itself necessitated the emanci- 
pation of the slaves. The Northern outlook had be- 
come darker and darker, and apart from some such 
action on his part Lincoln was beginning to feel that 
the situation was a hopeless one. He was determined, 
in any case, "not to surrender the game leaving any 
available card unplayed." He did not feel that he was 
prevented from emancipating the slaves on constitu- 
tional grounds, as he took the view that as Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy in time of war 



NEGRO EMANCIPATION— TIDE TURNS 135 

(a position the President ipso facto occupied) he had the 
right to take any measure which might best insure 
the triumph of the Union. As a matter of fact, only 
a month or two before the Chicago deputation had 
interviewed him, he had almost decided on this emanci- 
pation policy. About the end of July, 1862, he called 
a Cabinet meeting together to deal with this very 
subject, and submitted to it the original draft of the 
proposed proclamation. All members of the Cabinet 
were present except Blair, the Postmaster-General. 
Lincoln in effect told the Cabinet that he had decided 
to issue the proclamation, and various suggestions were 
offered by Cabinet Ministers with regard to alterations 
and emendations in the wording. While the meeting 
was being held, Blair came in and opposed the policy 
suggested, on the ground that it would lead to the 
Government losing the coming autumn elections. 
Finally, after every one else had exprest his views, 
Secretary Seward spoke as follows: — 

"Mr, President, I approve the proclamation, but I ques- 
tion the expediency of its issue at this juncture. The de- 
pression of the pubUc mind, consequent upon our repeated 
reverses, is so great that I fear the effect of so important a 
step. It may be viewed as the last measure of an exhausted 
Government— a cry for help; the Government stretching 
forth its hands to Ethiopia, instead of Ethiopia stretching 
forth her hands to the Government. My idea is that it 
would be considered our last shriek on the retreat. Now, 
while I approve the measure, I suggest, sir, that you post- 
pone its issue until you can give it to the country supported 



136 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

by military success, instead of issuing it, as would be the 
case now, upon the greatest disasters of the war." 

Lincoln was imprest by the force of Seward^s argu- 
ments, and decided to put the draft of the proclamation 
aside for the time being. When, however, the news 
reached him of the battle of Antietam, and he reahzed 
that this involved the retreat of the Southern forces, 
he made up his mind to wait no longer. Having 
finished the second draft of the proclamation, he called 
the Cabinet together the fifth day after the battle, 
22nd September, and, after being duly passed, it was 
published on the following Monday. The first procla- 
mation was indeed merely an announcement of what was 
intended, but on the first of January of the following 
year, 1863, the President signed the further proclama- 
tion required to put the preliminary announcement 
into operation. This proclamation declared that "in 
virtue of the power vested in him as Commander-in- 
Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States in 
time of actual armed rebelHon against the authority and 
government of the United States, and as a fit and 
necessary war measure for suppressing the said rebel- 
lion, all persons held as slaves within the States of 
Arkansas, Louisiana (thirteen counties excepted), Mis- 
sissippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, 
North Carolina, and Virginia (the forty-eight counties 
of Western Virginia and seven others excepted) are and 
henceforward shall be free, and that the executive 
Government of the United States, including the military 




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NEGRO EMANCIPATION— TIDE TURNS 137 

and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and main- 
tain the freedom of the said persons." The proclama- 
tion fm-ther declared that "such persons as were of 
suitable condition would be received into the army 
service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, 
stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all 
sorts in the said service.'' The President, in conclud- 
ing his proclamation, invoked "the considerate judg- 
ment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty 
God upon an act sincerely believed to be an act of 
justice warranted by the situation and the military 
necessity." 

The eventual effect of this proclamation was to enroll 
no less than 300,000 negroes in the armies of the 
North. Its immediate effect was in some ways no less 
noteworthy. The North had been living in constant 
dread lest the Southern Confederacy should be officially 
recognized by the European Powers. It was known 
that the Emperor Napoleon was anxious to do this, 
and that European nations were hesitating what line 
to adopt. It was now no longer possible for any 
European country to dispute the fact that the cause 
of the North was the cause of freedom. Nothing 
during the whole war tended so much to discourage the 
supporters of the South in England as well as on the 
Continent, or to put heart into the partizans of the 
North, who were now in a position to maintain openly 
that the cause of the Union was the cause of justice 
and liberty. A special message of congratulation was 



188 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

sent to the President by the cotton workers of Man- 
chester and the North, who had been specially hard hit 
by the war, warmly congratulating him on the step 
which he had taken. Lincoln replied in a most ap- 
preciative spirit, sajang that he well understood that 
the duty of self-preservation rested solely with the 
American people, but that he realized also that the 
favor or disfavor of foreign opinion might have a 
material influence in enlarging or prolonging the strug- 
gle. "It has" (he continued) "been often and steadily 
represented that the attempt to overthrow this govern- 
ment, which was built upon the foundation of human 
rights, and to substitute for it one which should rest 
exclusively on the basis of human slavery, was hkely 
to obtam the favor of Europe. . . . Under the circum- 
stances, I cannot but regard your decisive utterances 
upon the question as an instance of sublime Christian 
heroism. It is indeed an energetic and reinspiring as- 
surance of the inherent power of truth and of the 
ultimate and universal triumph of justice, humanity, 
and freedom." 

It is e\ddence of Lincoln's profound innate religious 
temperament that he told Chase that he had made a 
solemn vow that if General Lee were driven back from 
Pennsylvania he would crow^n the result by the declara- 
tion of freedom to the slaves. It was in fulfilment of 
this vow that the proclamation was issued. It will be 
realized that tho this proclamation was a step of 
the utmost importance, it did not actually abolish 



NEGRO EMANCIPATION— TIDE TURNS 139 

slavery. It merely proclaimed the freedom of all the 
slaves within the States in rebellion against the Union. 
The larger measure was to come later. To have done 
more than this by proclamation would have transcended 
the powers of the I^esident even in time of war. The 
justification for the step taken was that it was a 
military necessity. 

In the meantime the military situation continued to 
be far from satisfactory, and the first six months of 
1863 saw further reverses to the cause of the Union. 
Burnside had been reHeved of his command of the 
Army of the Potomac after his reverse before Fred- 
ericksburg, and was replaced by General Hooker. The 
change of command failed, however, to change the for- 
tunes of war. Hooker attempted a second advance on 
Richmond, but only met with new disasters, and in a 
series of battles at Chancellorsville in the first week of 
May found himself forced to retreat with a loss of 
some 18,000 men. General Grant was more successful. 
About the same date he commenced a new movement, 
landing his forces at a point on the Mississippi some 
sixty-five miles south of Vicksburg, which had long re- 
sisted the attacks of the Union forces. From this point 
he proceeded to march in a northerly direction, com- 
pelling the evacuation by the Southern armies of some 
strong fortifications at Grand Gulf and dispersing the 
army which, under General Joseph Johnston, had ad- 
vanced to relieve the place. This left the city of Jack- 
son, the capital of the State of Mississippi, at the mercy 



140 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

of the Northern general, who took possession of the 
place with its large stores of supplies and artillery. 
Advancing further, he reached Vicksburg about the 
middle of May and, after a preliminary unsuccessful at- 
tempt to storm the place, proceeded to invest it closely. 
The slow progress of the Northern arms was in the 
meantime breeding grave discontent with the Govern- 
ment generally, and the President in particular. An 
agitation against the war was started by an old pro- 
slavery man, Clement L. Vallandigham of Ohio. 
Vallandigham was arrested and sentenced to close con- 
finement in a fortress. This, however, only had the 
effect of leading to an outcry against the Government 
on the charge of military despotism, which had the sup- 
port of Governor Seymour of New York. Finally, 
the President decided to release Vallandigham and 
have him conducted to within the Confederate Hnes, 
the understanding being that he should not return 
during the war. To make matters worse, the Demo- 
cratic party at their State Convention for the nomina- 
tion of State Governors in Ohio, 11th June, chose 
Vallandigham as candidate for Governor by an almost 
unanimous vote. In this same month of June the 
Federal territory was actually being invaded by the 
Southern forces under General Lee, who was marching 
in a northwesterly direction up the Shenandoah Valley. 
On the 13th of the month his lieutenant, Ewell, drove 
Milroy from Winchester. On the following day the 
Confederate forces crossed the Potomac. Hampered by 



NEGRO EMANCIPATION— TIDE TURNS 141 

internal discontent, and faced at the same time by mili- 
tary failure, Lincoln was confronted with what threat- 
ened to prove the gravest crisis in the war. The tide, 
however, was already on the point of turning. Hook- 
er's army, now under the command of General Meade, 
who first comes into prominence at this time, and whose 
army had been given the slip by General Lee, advanced 
into Pennsylvania in pursuit of the Southern army, 
which had already invaded this Northern State. The 
two armies met at Gettysburg, and after three days' 
fighting, 1st to 3rd July, the Confederate forces were 
compelled to retreat, leaving some 14,000 prisoners in 
Meade's hands. Only one day later, 4th July, Vicks- 
burg, which, as already stated, had been invested by 
Grant, surrendered unconditionally. The prisoners 
here taken amounted to upwards of 30,000 in number, 
besides 220 guns. In the following week Fort Hudson 
on the Lower Mississippi surrendered to the Federal 
armies, with 7,000 prisoners and 50 pieces of artillery. 

The result of this success was that the Northern forces 
now controlled the whole course of the Mississippi, 
and the Confederate territory was cut in two. These 
victories, coming after such a long series of failures 
and reverses, were acclaimed in the North with general 
rejoicings. Independence Day, 4th July, was made the 
occasion of wide-spread enthusiasm, the news of the 
surrender of Vicksburg, following the victory of Gettys- 
burg, arriving on the afternoon of that day. The 
President was serenaded by the delighted populace, 



142 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

when he took the opportunity to point the moral 
of the occasion by alluding to the Southern rebellion as 
"an effort to overthrow the principle that all men were 
created equal," which was the avowed basis of the 
Declaration of Independence, and which was now 
threatened by the champions of slavery and the in- 
equality of man. To General Grant Lincoln wrote 
personally ''a grateful acknowledgment for the almost 
inestimable service he had done to the country." The 
6th August was set apart as a day of national thanks- 
giving for the victories achieved, at what was without 
doubt the real turning-point of the war. 

These gi^at successes of the Northern forces syn- 
chronized, curiously enough, with very serious internal 
disturbances. On the 13th July the carrying out of 
the Conscription Act was forcibly resisted in New York, 
and Mob Law reigned in the city for four days. Ne- 
groes were beaten to death. A colored orphan asylum 
was sacked and set on fire. The State authorities, who 
were Democratic in sjmapathies, stood by without ta- 
king any action. Governor Seymour asked for the post- 
ponement of the draft — a concession to the mob which 
the President firmly declined to grant. On 19th Au- 
gust it was carried out without opposition. These riots, 
however, had exactly the reverse effect to that which 
their organizers anticipated. A wave of indignation 
swept over the country against such enemies of the 
Union. In the following elections Vallandigham was 
defeated for the Governoraliip of Ohio by a majority 



NEGRO EMANCIPATION— TIDE TURNS 143 

of nearly 100,000. New York was won by the Repub- 
licans, and every State except New Jersey indorsed the 
Government policy. 

The end, however, of the Federal reverses was not 
yet. General Rosecrans had successfully driven the 
Southern forces under General Bragg through south- 
eastern Tennessee until he had compelled them on the 
9th September to evacuate Chattanooga; while at the 
same time General Burnside, advancing from the east, 
entered its capital, Knoxville. Bragg, however, was 
immediately afterwards reinforced by an army com- 
manded by Longstreet, General Lee's ablest heutenant. 
The combined army fell on Burnside, who apparently 
had not anticipated this move, and inflicted on him a de- 
feat at Chickamauga. The Federal armies found them- 
selves shut up in Chattanooga in a perilous position 
with only scanty suppHes. General Grant was here- 
upon placed in command of the Federal army in 
Tennessee, v/hither Sherman was hurried to his sup- 
port with reinforcements from the IMississippi. The 
reverse was rapidly retrieved. Grant with his rein- 
forced army moved out to attack Bragg, and drove the 
Confederates from their positions. At the same time 
Grainger and Sherman were sent to relieve Burnside 
at Knoxville. Longstreet, the Southern general, there- 
upon raised the siege and retreated into Virginia. 

Before this latest reverse had been retrieved, 19th 
November, 1863, the President was called upon to 
speak at the dedication of a national burying-ground on 



144 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

the field of Gettysburg. The few words which he 
addrest to his audience on this memorable occasion 
have long been remembered, and afford a typical ex- 
ample of Lincoln's simple and yet singularly moving 
style of oratory. Of this speech, M. Dusergier de 
Hauranne, in an appreciative article on President Lin- 
coln in the Revue des Deux Mondes, written shortly after 
the President's assassination, observed: "I do not think 
that modern eloquence has ever produced anything 
more lofty in tone than the discourse pronounced by 
Lincoln over the tomb of the soldiers who perished at 
Gettysburg," and later critics have been unanimous in 
indorsing this judgment. 

"Fourscore and seven years ago" (said Lincoln) "our 
fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, con- 
ceived in Hberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all 
men are created equal. 

" Now we are engaged in a great civil war; testing whether 
that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, 
can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that 
war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as 
a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that 
this nation might five. It is altogether fitting and proper 
that we should do this. 

"But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate — we cannot 
consecrate — we cannot hallow — this ground. The brave 
men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated 
it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world 
will little note, nor long remember, what we say here^ but 
it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the 
living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work 



NEGRO EMANCIPATION— TIDE TURNS 143 

which they who fought here have thus far so nobly ad- 
vanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the groat 
task remaining before us — that from these honored dead 
we take increased devotion to that cause for which they 
gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly 
resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that 
this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, 
and that government of the people, by the people, for the 
people, shall not perish from the earth." ^ 

The following winter was not favorable to the North- 
ern arms. They were defeated in an expedition into 
the heart of Florida — one of the principal sources of 
Confederate supplies. An attempt to surprize Rich- 
mond also ended in a reverse, General Kilpatrick ac- 
tually advancing as far as the second line of fortifica- 
tions, two and a half miles outside the city, on 1st 
March, 1864. He was, however, then compelled to 
withdraw, owing to the defeat and capture of a portion 
of his forces under Colonel Dahlgren. A more serious 
defeat was suffered by General Banks in the West. 
Banks was advancing up the valley of the Red River, 
one of the principal westerly affluents of the Mississippi, 
when he was encountered by General Kirby Smith, in 
command of the Southern forces, and compelled to fall 
back with a loss of 16,000 men. This was followed by 



1 Lincoln's speech, as to text, punctuation, etc., is given here 
as Lincoln wrote it out afterwards for a soldiers' and sailors' fair 
in Baltimore. It differs somewhat from versions which have been 
printed elsewhere. One of these, widely current, was a stenogra- 
pher's report, as taken down at the time Lincoln made the 
speech at Gettysburg. 



146 . ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

the capture of Fort Pillow, on the Mississippi, by the 
Confederate forces, and a disgraceful massacre of the 
Northern soldiery, who had been taken prisoners 
mostly negroes. 

General Grant was now in chief command of all the 
United States armies, and the President addrest to 
him on 30th April the following letter: — 

"Lieut.-Gen. Grant, — Not expecting to see 3''ou before 
the Spring campaign opens, I wish to express in this way my 
entire satisfaction with what you have done up to this time, 
so far as I understand it. 

"The particulars of your plans I neither know nor seek 
to know. You are vigilant and self-reliant; and, pleased 
with this, I wish not to obtrude any restraints and constraints 
upon you. While I am very anxious that any great disaster 
or capture of our men in great numbers shall be avoided, 
I know that these points are less hkely to escape your atten- 
tion than they would be mine. If there be anything wanting 
which is within my power to give, do not fail to let me 
know it. 

"And now, with a brave army and a just cause, may God 
sustain you!" 

The change of attitude towards his new Commander- 
in-Chief is not a little noteworthy. While General 
M'Clellan held command and after, the responsibilities 
of the military situation weighed heavily upon the 
President, who felt himself obhged to give constant 
advice and indeed definite instructions to his Com- 
mander-in-Chief on a number of different occasions, 
going so far as to sketch out plans of campaign and 
issuing definite orders for the general's guidance wher- 




GENERAL ULYSSES S. GRANT, A WAR-TIME PORTRAIT 



^-gj^--JM 



NEGRO EMANCIPATION— TIDE TURNS 147 

ever he thought this necessary. The confidence he 
felt in the judgment and capacity of General Grant, on 
the other hand, and the friendly relations between 
them, led to an entirely different line of action. Grant 
was, in fact, allowed a perfectly free hand, and even 
when his views did not coincide with those of Lincoln, 
the President preferred to leave him to use his own 
discretion and to await the result. In replying to his 
letter, Grant observed: — 

*'The confidence you express for the future and satisfac- 
tion for the past in my military administration, is acknowl- 
edged with pride. It will be my earnest endeavor that you 
and the country shall not be disappointed. From my first 
entrance into the Volunteer service of the country to the 
present day I have never had cause of complaint. I have 
never exprest or implied a complaint against the adminis- 
tration or the 'Secretary of War for throwing any barrier in 
the way of my prosecuting what appeared to be my duty. 
Indeed'' (he added) "I have been astonished at the readiness 
with which everything asked for has been yielded without 
any explanation being asked." 

No greater contrast than the above letter could be 
offered to the endless and querulous complaints made 
by General M'Clellan against the Army Administration 
for faiUng to meet his frequently unreasonable and 
impossible demands. It must, however, be borne in 
mind that the forces now at the disposal of the North 
were infinitely greater than in the earher period of the 
campaign, and the same obstacles accordingly did not 
offer themselves to meeting the requirements of the 



148 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

general in command. The campaign now in prepara- 
tion was the one destined to bring the war to a success- 
ful issue. Grant's plan was to concentrate the vast 
bulk of the United States forces into two great armies, 
the object of which would be to strike simultaneous 
blows from the North and from the South. One of 
these armies accordingly commenced a renewed march 
upon Richmond from the North under the command of 
Grant himself and General Meade. The other, under 
the command of Sherman, advanced from Chattanooga 
towards the Atlantic coast and thence northwards. 

Grant proceeded to cross the Rapidan, and thereupon 
advanced into the broken wooded country termed "The 
Wilderness," where it was impossible for artillery to 
maneuver, and which was admirably adapted for the 
defensive and harassing tactics of the enemy. In this 
disadvantageous terrain Grant found himself face to 
face with Lee's army in full force. There was a stubborn 
and indecisive engagement on 5th and 6th May, 1864, 
involving great losses to the Southern army, and still 
heavier to Grant's. Following this. Grant made a 
movement to the left with a view to outflanking Lee. 
In this, however, he was not successful, but the move- 
ment led to a further destructive battle on 8th to 12th 
May, in which, again, both sides lost heavily — Grant's 
army losing some 18,000 men and Lee's probably as 
many. Lee, however, was compelled to fall back 
further to a position north of the River Anna. 

Grant still endeavored to turn Lee's right, Lee mean- 



NEGRO EMANCIPATION— TIDE TURNS 149 

while maneuvering his army with a view to the protec- 
tion of Richmond. By the end of the month Grant 
had arrived at Cold Harbor, ten miles northeast of 
Richmond. He had at the same time sent an expedi- 
tion under General Butler by sea up the James River, 
with the object of making a landing south of Richmond, 
his instructions being to take the fortress of Petersburg, 
twenty-two miles south of the Southern capital. The 
expedition, however, proved a failure. The Northern 
armies under Grant himself suffered a further reverse 
on 1st to 3rd June, in a Tontal attack on Lee's entrench- 
ments, which led finally to his abandonment of the 
attack. Finding a direct offensive impracticable, 
Grant thereupon moved his army across the James 
River to the neighborhood of City Point, some miles 
east of Petersburg. 

At the commencement of the summer General Sigel, 
who was in command in the lower part of the Shenan- 
doah Valley, had marched southwards on Grant's in- 
structions. General Early was detached by Lee to 
stop his progress. An engagement ensued in which 
Sigel was defeated. General Hunter was sent out to 
supersede Sigel, and met with no better success. Early 
advanced and overwhelmed a smaller force under 
General Wallace, and on the 11th July actually ap- 
peared before Washington. He was not, however, in 
a position to make a serious attack on the capital, and 
after an assault upon one of the Washington forts with- 
drew back across the Potomac. Meanwhile, in pur- 



150 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

suance of the other portion of Grant's plan of campaign, 
Sherman proceeded to advance in an easterly direction 
from Chattanooga, where he found himself opposed by- 
General Joseph Johnston, whom he succeeded in push- 
ing back along the line of railway towards Atlanta. 
Johnston had carefully avoided open engagements. 
His cautious tactics were, however, not approved by 
Jefferson Davis, who sent out General Hood to super- 
sede him. The new general promptly gave battle, 
and suffered a severe defeat before Atlanta, which town 
he was compelled to evacuate on 2nd September. In 
the meantime Admiral Farragut, in a naval engage- 
ment on 5th August, possest himself of the harbor 
of Mobile with its forts. General Grant now dispatched 
General Sheridan to put an end to the raids up the 
Shenandoah Valley, placing him in command of Hun- 
ter's army. The consequent military operations led 
to the defeat of Early at Cedar Creek on 19th October, 
while the country was devastated by Grant's orders, 
so that it should be impossible in future for Richmond 
to draw further supplies from this source, and with a 
view to preventing further raids in the same direction. 
Meanwhile Sherman, with Grant's reluctant consent, 
had established the headquarters of his army at 
Atlanta, while he sent General Thomas back into 
Tennessee where the Southern General Hood was con- 
templating a diversion. Thomas took up a defensive 
position behind the fortifications of Nashville, leaving 
General Schofield to check the enemy's advance, while 



NEGRO EMANCIPATION— TIDE TURNS 151 

he himself waited for further reinforcements. An en- 
gagement ensued between Schofield and Hood at 
Franklin, in which Hood's army suffered heavy losses; 
as a result Schofield was able to fall back slowly un- 
molested to Nashville, rejoining Thomas's army. 
Grant felt great anxiety with regard to Thomas's posi- 
tion and his failure to take more prompt steps to stop 
the advance of the Southern general. He had, in fact, 
already sent out instructions to supersede him; but in 
the meantime news reached him that in a battle on 
15th to 16th December Thomas had fallen upon Hood's 
army, completely routing it, capturing on the occasion 
some 13,000 prisoners. 

Sherman's forces were now occupying themselves 
in systematically devasting the agricultural country of 
Georgia, which had served as a granary for the Con- 
federate forces. This work of destruction being ac- 
complished, Sherman proceeded to take possession of 
Savannah on the Atlantic coast, and made preparations 
to proceed thence on his Northern march. Grant was 
all this time extending his entrenchments further round 
the south side of Petersburg, and had seized two out 
of the three railway hnes which converged on that city, 
thus cutting off the enemy's supplies. The Confeder- 
ate forces were now almost entirely hemmed in, and 
desertion was playing havoc in their armies. It was 
clear that their final defeat could not be indefinitely 
postponed. 

In the meantime Sherman was continuing his march 



152 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

northwards from his headquarters at Savannah. Lee 
endeavored to concentrate all available forces against 
him at Augusta. While appearing to threaten this 
city on the one hand, and the port of Charleston on the 
other, Sherman, as a matter of fact, was making 
preparations for an advance due north on Columbia, 
the capital of South Carolina. He reached this town 
on 17th February by forced marches, and thus put an 
end to the intended concentration of the Southern 
forces at Augusta. Sherman's march had the effect of 
cutting the communications with Charleston, which 
was hurriedly abandoned, and occupied by the Northern 
forces on 18th February. 

Wilmington was now the only seaport left in posses- 
sion of the Southern Confederation, and Richmond, cut 
off from its main arteries of communication, was to a 
great extent dependent on the suppUes which reached 
it through this quarter in spite of the blockade. An 
unsuccessful attack had been made by General Butler 
on Wilmington at the end of December, but this reverse 
was soon retrieved. Admiral Porter, cooperating with 
the land forces, effected the capture of Fort Fisher at 
the mouth of Wilmington Harbor. Following this, on 
the 22nd February, the city itself was stormed by 
General Schofield, and the last maritime port passed 
into the hands of the Union forces. It was now Sher- 
man's aim to effect a junction with General Schofield. 
Johnston, whose object was to prevent this, had not 
with him more than some 33,000 men; and Sherman 



NEGRO EMANCIPATION— TIDE TURNS 153 

had probably three times the number. There were, 
however, a large number of other Confederate troops 
in Georgia and the Carolinas, and Johnston counted on 
getting a fair proportion of these to come to his assist- 
ance. An indecisive battle took place between Sher- 
man's army and Johnston's at Bentonville, Johnston 
withdrawing within an entrenched position where 
Sherman hesitated to attack him. Schofield, however, 
now arrived on the scene, and Johnston was forced to 
abandon his position. On 23rd March Sherman oc- 
cupied Goldsborough, having advanced four hundred 
and twenty-five miles from Savannah during a period 
of fifty days, in spite of the unfavorable weather con- 
ditions at this time of the year. He had now the port 
of New Berne on his right as a safe base of suppHes. 

In another field of the war Sheridan, who had re- 
mained in winter quarters until 27th February, started 
once more up the Shenandoah Valley with 10,000 
cavalry in pursuit of the remains of Early's forces. 
These were now dispersed and captured, and having 
broken up the railway communication to the north- 
west of Richmond, Sheridan proceeded to join Grant 
and place his cavalry at his service. 

While the war was thus progressing, the President 
continued to occupy his mind with the question of 
Negro Emancipation. After issuing his proclamation 
freeing all slaves in States in arms against the central 
government, he proceeded in his annual message to 
put before Congress a considered policy for dealing 



154 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

with the whole question. What he proposed was a 
constitutional amendment to be submitted to the 
people providing that compensation should be given 
by the Government to any State, whether now in 
rebellion or not, which should abolish slavery before 
the year 1900; and that all slaves who had acquired 
their freedom through the chances of war should be 
granted such freedom in perpetuity, and their owners 
compensated. Also that Congress should vote money 
for a scheme for the colonization of negroes outside the 
borders of the United States. These moderate pro- 
posals on the part of the President were not followed 
up by Congress. The Democrats in especial were op- 
posed to them. But the situation created by the 
Emancipation Proclamation was bound to lead to a 
position which would have to be dealt with, and dealt 
with on bold Unes. It was clear that matters could 
not remain as they had been in the past. Lincoln him- 
self long viewed with favor the scheme for negro colo- 
nization, realizing the difficulties which would eventuate 
for the United States Government in having to deal 
with so large and rapidly increasing an emancipated 
negro population. Bills were introduced into Congress 
to compensate the States of Missouri and Maryland 
if they abolished slavery, the popular fseling in these 
States being strongly in favor of abolition. The ma- 
jority in both Houses supported these bills, but they 
were eventually killed by persistent obstruction. 
As time went on, the Abolitionist Movement gained 



NEGRO EMANCIPATION— TIDE TURNS ir-^^ 



)•) 



steadily in strength. In the autumn of 18G4 Maryland 
passed an amendment to the State Constitution abolish- 
ing slavery, and allowing no compensation to the slave- 
owner. Missouri followed later with a similar meas- 
ure, while Kentucky and Tennessee started a move- 
ment in the same direction. It was clear now which 
way the current was running, and the Republican 
Convention of 1864, in choosing Lincoln as its candidate 
for reelection to the Presidency, declared in favor of a 
constitutional amendment to abohsh slavery through- 
out the States. There was little doubt that the next 
Congress would do this, but Lincoln was anxious that 
the matter should be taken in hand at once. In his 
message to Congress in 1864 he urged the advisability 
of prompt action. An amendment to the Constitution 
necessitated a two-thirds majority. The resolution 
was passed in the Senate, but its fate in the House of 
Representatives seemed extremely uncertain till the 
very last moment. It hung, in short, upon a very few 
doubtful votes. Lincoln picked out two Democratic 
Congressmen, who presumably had compromised them- 
selves in some way and stood in wholesome awe of the 
Presidential authority. He told them in so many 
words that the gaining of a few votes would secure 
the passing of the resolution, and that these votes 
must be gained. He added that he looked to them 
personally to see that they were secured. His threat 
had the desired effect, and on 31st January, 1865, the 
resolution was passed in the House of Representatives 



156 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

by the requisite two-thirds majority, the crowd in the 
galleries breaking out at the announcement of the 
result into a demonstration of enthusiasm which was 
long afterwards remembered. The action of Congress 
required to be subsequently indorsed by twenty-seven 
out of the thirty-six individual States, and it was not 
till December of the same year that this final step was 
completed. The necessary majority had then been 
obtained, and slavery in the United States of America 
was a thing of the past. Lincoln was no longer alive 
to see this much-desired consummation, but it had been 
practically assured some months before his death. 

Three years later a constitutional amendment was 
passed forbidding any distinction in the franchise on 
the ground of race or color. This amendment evidently 
went further than Lincoln's own views on the matter, 
his cautious policy aiming rather at confining the 
franchise to the better educated and more influential 
portion of the black population. It was, however, 
feared that vagrancy laws and other such methods 
might be put into operation as an indirect means of re- 
enslaving the negroes in the South, and the defenders 
of the amendment argued that universal franchise 
would be the best means to be adopted for their 
protection. 



Chapter XII 

LINCOLN REELECTED PRESIDENT 

It has been mentioned that the HepubHcan party had 
adopted Lincoln as their candidate for the Presidency, 
but he was not destined to be elected unopposed. 
His four years' term of office was due to expire in 
March, 1865, and the election would take place in 
the preceding November. The reverses to the Federal 
arms in the early months of 1864 had led to great dis- 
content and dissatisfaction in the North, and it was 
feared for some time that Lincoln's chances of re- 
election were by no means encouraging. The Demo- 
crats, taking advantage of popular discontent, decided 
to put forward General M'Clellan; while the ex- 
treme section of AboUtionists nominated General 
Fremont, who, however, withdrew his candidature be- 
fore the election. Lincoln formally accepted the nomi- 
nation on 27th June, 1864. Replying to a congratu- 
latory address from the ''National Union League," he 
used an expression in thanking the League which has 
since become a household word. " I have not," he said, 
"permitted myself, gentlemen, to conclude that I am 
the best man in the country, but I am reminded in this 

157 



158 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

connection of a story of an old Dutch farmer who 
remarked to a companion once that it was best not to 
swap horses when crossing a stream." 

His renomination recalled to the President a curious 
experience which he had had at the time of his first 
nomination at the Chicago Convention of 1860, which 
serves to illustrate the strong vein of superstition in his 
character. He related the experience at the time of 
its occurrence to Mr. Carpenter, and also to John Hay, 
his assistant private secretary. ''In the afternoon of 
the day, returning home from down-town," he said, 
"I went up-stairs to Mrs. Lincoln's sitting-room. Feel- 
ing somewhat tired, I lay down upon a couch in the 
room, directly opposite a bureau, upon which was a 
looking-glass. As I reclined, my eye fell upon the 
glass, and I saw distinctly two images of myself, 
exactly aHke, except that one was a Httle paler than 
the other. I arose and lay down again, with the same 
result. It made me quite uncomfortable for a few 
moments; but some friends coming in, the matter 
passed out of my mind. The next day, while walking 
in the street, I was suddenly reminded of the circum- 
stances and a disagreeable sensation was produced by 
its return. I had never seen anything of the kind 
before, and did not know what to make of it. I de- 
termined to go home and place myself in the same 
position; and, if the same effect was produced. I would 
make up my mind that it was the natural result of some 
principle of refraction or optics which I did not under- 



LINCOLN REELECTED PRESIDENT 159 

stand, and dismiss it. I tried the experiment, with the 
same result; and, accounting for it on some principle 
unknown to me, it ceased to trouble me." It is per- 
haps worth noting that Mrs. Lincoln took this at the 
time as a psychic intimation of her husband's second 
election to the Presidency. 

Following Lincoln's nomination, an attempt was 
made by the South at a settlement by negotiation, and 
three Confederate commissioners applied for a safe- 
conduct to Washington to treat for peace. With par- 
ties in the North so disunited, there was no little 
danger of intrigues being set on foot by these com- 
missioners. At the same time there was obvious risk 
involved if the President consented to treat with them. 
If he did so without any stipulation as to the restoration 
of the Union, he forfeited his title to support as a 
Union candidate. If, again, he did so without any 
stipulation as to the aboHtion of slavery, he would 
forfeit the entire support of the Abolitionists. Lincoln, 
moreover, was unwilling to recognize officially the gov- 
ernment of Jefferson Davis, as this would give an armed 
rebellion a status which he had invariably refused to 
accord it. It was doubtful, again, how far the com- 
missioners' terms would be considered binding by the 
armed forces of the South, and unless they were in a po- 
sition to secure the disbanding of the Southern army 
on the acceptance of their terms, negotiations with 
them would obviously be futile. Lincoln under these 
circumstances issued a statement which was entirely 



160 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

successful in baffling the intrigue without compromising 
his own position. It ran as follows: — 

*'To whom it may concern: — Any proposition which em- 
braces the restoration of peace, the integrity of the whole 
Union, and the abandonment of slavery, and which comes 
by and with an authority that can control the armies now 
at war against the United States, will be received and con- 
sidered by the Executive Government of the United States, 
and will be met by hberal terms on substantial and collateral 
points, and the bearer or bearers thereof shall have safe- 
conduct both ways." 

It was about this time, as already narrated, that 
the Confederate army was raiding in Maryland and 
Pennsylvania, and that Grant met with the serious 
repulse in his assault of Petersburg on 30th July. In 
view of the gravity of the situation Lincoln had called 
for a further levy of five hundred thousand men. His 
friends endeavored to dissuade him from doing so, 
for fear of endangering his electioneering prospects. 
"As to my reelection," he replied, "it matters not. 
We must have the men. If I go down I intend to do 
so, like the Cumberland} with my colors flying." The 
President was looking ill and was suffering from worry 
and overwork. His friends were anxious about his 
condition and urged him to take things more easily. 
"I cannot work less," he replied. "But it is not that. 
Work never troubled me. Personally I care nothing 

1 The Cumberland was a wooden frigate sunk by the Confeder- 
ate ironclad Merrimac in Hampton Roads. 



LINCOLN REELECTED PRESIDENT 161 

about a reelection; but if our divisions defeat us, I 
fear for the country." He said again that he had 
faith in the ultinxate triumph of the North, but added, 
*'I may never Hve to see it. I feel a presentiment that 
I shall not outlast the rebellion. When it is over my 
work will be done." 

Before the Presidential election took place, the tide 
had turned once more and finally in favor of the North. 
Lincoln had now no longer any real anxiety as regards 
his reelection. He was, in fact, returned by the votes 
of all the loyal States except three, and by a larger 
popular majority than had ever yet been given in a con- 
tested Presidential election. He received a triumphant 
ovation on the occasion, and replied to his enthusiastic 
supporters in the following memorable words: — 

"It has long been a grave question whether any Govern- 
ment, not too strong for the Hberties of the people, can be 
strong enough to maintain its own existence in great emer- 
gencies. On this point the present rebellion has brought our 
Republic to a severe test; and the Presidential elections 
occurring in regular course during the rebellion added not a 
little to the strain. If the loyal people united were put to 
the utmost of their strength by the rebellion, must they not 
fall when divided and partially paralyzed by a pohtical war 
among themselves? But the election was a necessity. We 
cannot have a free government without elections; and if a 
rebellion could force us to forego or postpone a national 
election, it might fairly claim to have aheady conquered us. 
. . . But the rebeUion continues; and now that the election 
is* over, may not all having a common interest reunite in a 
common effort to save our common country? For my own 



162 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

part, I have striven and shall strive to avoid placing any 
obstructions in the way. So long as I have been here I 
have not willingly planted a thorn for any man's bosom. 
While I am duly sensible to the high compliment of a re- 
election, and duly grateful to Almighty God for having 
directed our countrymen to right conclusions, as I think, 
for their good, it adds nothing to my satisfaction that any 
other man may be disappointed by the result. May I ask 
those who have differed with me to join with me in this same 
spirit to those who have not? And now let me close by 
asking three hearty cheers for our brave soldiers and seamen, 
and their gallant and skilful commanders." 

The raising of the respective armies of the North and 
South had proved a very serious matter to a country 
not accustomed to military service. The resources of 
the South were necessarily much smaller than those of 
the North, and compulsion had accordingly to be re- 
sorted to at a much earlier date. The Southern Gov- 
ernment granted the necessary powers in April, 1862, 
about one year after the commencement of hostilities. 
The Conscription Act in the North did not become 
law till March, 1863, and even so the percentage of men 
enrolled under this Act was remarkably small, tho 
it proved a very efiicient incentive to voluntary enlist- 
ment. There were in aims at the end of the war in the 
Northern army 980,000 white soldiers, and something 
like 300,000 black. Before conscription was put into 
force the Northern army had already reached the total 
of 860,000, but it was found impossible to make good 
the constant wantage of war. At one period in the war, 



LINCOLN REELECTED PRESIDENT 163 

curiously enough at the very time that tlie South was 
adopting conscription, recruiting was suddenly stopped 
in the North, the reason apparently being the conges- 
tion of the War Department and the fact that recruits 
presented themselves faster than they could be or- 
ganized and equipped. During the latter part of the 
war the numbers in arms in the North were immensely 
greater than those in the South, and the Southern 
armies in consequence constantly found themselves 
confronted with very greatly superior forces. 

In the original measure of compulsion in the South 
the liabihty to serve was limited to the ages of eighteen 
to thirty-five. This was extended in September, 1862, 
to eighteen to forty-five, and finally in February, 1864, 
to all between seventeen and fifty. The Northern Con- 
scription Act placed the recruiting organization under 
the control of General James B. Fry, as Provost- 
Marshal-General. The country was divided into a 
number of districts and sub-districts, and authority 
was given to enroll all male citizens between twenty 
and forty-five. Each district, how^ever, was merely 
required to provide its special quota, and if it could 
do this without the aid of compulsion, the Conscription 
Act was not put into force. Conscripts were chosen 
by lot from those liable to serve, but those chosen were 
at liberty to find substitutes if they could do so, the 
price of a substitute, generally speaking, amounting to 
about a thousand dollars. Provision was made to 
safeguard such as could not pay this price, the arrange- 



164 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

ment being that a substitute should be found for them 
for three hundred dollars. It stands to reason, how- 
ever, that there must have been many conscripts who 
would not be in a position to find this sum. This 
method of conscription has of course been very widely 
adopted in the past, but was rejected in the great war 
of to-day on account of its very obvious unfairness to 
the poorer citizens. It was, however, the traditional 
method, and evidently Lincoln did not see his way to 
substitute anything of a more efiicient and at the same 
time juster character. The number of men actually 
conscripted in the North was comparatively small, and 
the main use of conscription was in reality as a threat 
to stimulate voluntary enlistment. 

The reelection of Lincoln as President and their 
reverses in the field brought home to the South the 
fact that it was high time to make peace. Jefferson 
Davis, however, was not prepared to accept the only 
possible terms. At the same time he was anxious to 
try if it would not be possible to secure peace on some 
more favorable conditions. With this view he dis- 
patched Vice-President Stephens, who had always been 
at heart opposed to the war, and two other Southern 
leaders, who were instructed to go to Grant's head- 
quarters and make an appeal through the conomander 
in the field, which would induce Lincoln to consent to 
see them and open negotiations. Lincoln was unwill- 
ing, but finally, at Grant's express desire, consented to 
see the commissioners, and make clear to them the 



LINCOLN REELECTED PRESIDENT 165 

only terms on which the South could have peace. lie 
accordingly went, taking Seward with him, and met 
the three commissioners on a ship at Hampton Roads 
on 3rd February. They were clearly told that the 
Union must be accepted in the most unqualified man- 
ner, and also advised of the constitutional amendment 
which Congress had submitted to the people on the 
subject of slavery, and which it must be understood 
would not be opposed. The attempt of the com- 
missioners to whittle down these terms met with no 
sort of success; and as it was clear that Jefferson 
Davis was not prepared to accept them, the Con- 
ference, as Lincoln anticipated, led to no results. The 
commissioners were, however, informed that while 
Lincoln could make no promise as regards amnesty for 
rebels, the executive power which lay in his hands 
would be used in the interests of clemency. "I un- 
derstand, then," Stephens said, "that you regard us 
as rebels who are liable to be hung for treason." Lin- 
coln replied that that was the case. "Well," said 
Stephens, "to tell you* the truth, we are none of us 
much afraid of being hanged with you as President." 
Lincoln now took office for the second time as 
President of the United States, and delivered his second 
inaugural address. Never has any great public pro- 
nouncement on a momentous occasion of history 
breathed so deep a religious feeling. Lincohi was in- 
deed one of the only great public men in history who 
could make use of Biblical phraseology in public life 



166 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

without the slightest suspicion of insincerity. Every- 
thing he said in public or private was so stamped with 
his own natural earnestness and the intensity of his 
convictions, that words which would have rung false 
from the Hps of any other statesman only served, when 
used by him, to add a note of greater solemnity and 
sense of responsibility to the address. 

"Fellow-countrymen,!" (he said) — "At this second appear- 
ance to take the oath of the Presidential office, there is less 
occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. 
Then a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pur- 
sued seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of 
four years, during which public declarations have been con- 
stantly called forth on every point and phase of the great 
contest which still absorbs the energies and engrosses the 
attention of the nation, little that is new could be presented. 
The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, 
is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, 
reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high 
hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured. 

"On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all 
thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. 
All dreaded it — all sought to avert it. While the inaugural 
address was being delivered from this place, devoted alto- 
gether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents 
were in the city seeking to destroy it without war — seeking 
to dissolve the Union and divide effects, by negotiation. 
Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make 
war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would 
accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came. 

"One-eighth of the whole population were colored slaves 
not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in 



LINCOLN REELECTED PRESIDENT 167 

the Southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar 
and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, 
somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, 
and extend this interest was the object for which the in- 
surgents would rend the Union, even by war; while tho 
Government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the 
territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the 
war the magnitude or the duration which it has already 
attained. Neither expected that the cause of the conflict 
might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should 
cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result 
less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same 
Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His 
aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men 
should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their 
bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge 
not, that we be not judged. The prayer of both could not 
be answered — that of neither has been answered fully. The 
Almighty has His own purposes. 'Wo unto the world be- 
cause of offenses; for it must needs be that offense cometh.' 
If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of these 
offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, 
but which, having continued through His appointed time, 
He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North 
and South this terrible war, as the wo due to those by whom 
offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from 
those divine attributes which the believers in a living God 
always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope — fervently 
do we pray — that this mighty scourge of war may speedily 
pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the 
wealth piled by the bondman^s two hundred and fifty years 
of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of 
blood drawn with the lash shall be paid with another drawn 
with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so 



168 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

still it must be said, 'The judgments of the Lord are true 
and righteous altogether/ 

"With malice towards none; with charity for all; with 
firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let 
us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the 
nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the 
battle, and for his widow, and his orphan — to do all which 
may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among 
ourselves, and with all nations." 



Chapter XIII 

THE END 

Lincoln now left Washington at Grant's desire, and 
proceeded to headquarters. Sheridan was already with 
Grant, and Sherman joined them shortly afterwards. 
Meanwhile Lee made overtures with a view to a con- 
ference which Lincoln instructed Grant to refuse except 
on tlie terms of unconditional surrender. 

Lee's defenses were now extended some forty miles 
around Richmond and Petersburg. On April 1st 
Sheridan, passing to the south of these Hues, in a battle 
at Five Forks, established himself in possession of the 
railway running west from Petersburg. Grant's army 
proceeded to deliver assaults at various points to the 
east of the Petersburg defenses. On 2nd April the 
Confederate Government left the capital, and Lee 
evacuated Richmond, which had become no longer 
tenable, on the next day. Jefferson Davis took refuge 
with Johnston's army. Johnston told him frankly that 
further resistance was impossible, and obtained his 
permission to treat with Sherman, the President him- 
self escaping South. Lee now aimed at joining hands 
^vith Johnston, but the Northern cavalry headed him 

169 



■wwi 



170 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

off and destroyed the railway lines on his route, cutting 
off his supplies. A running fight followed, culminating 
in a battle on 6th April at Sailor's Creek. Driven back 
thence, the Southern general found himself surrounded 
beyond any possibiHty of escape at Appomattox Court 
House. 

A meeting was arranged between himself and Grant 
and their respective staffs in a neighboring farmhouse. 
Lee inquired on what terms Grant would accept sur- 
render. Grant gave permission for every Southern 
officer to keep his sword and his horse, and subsequently 
accorded permission, on Lee's soUcitation, for the cav- 
alry troopers also to retain their horses. A general in- 
demnity against the charge of treason was also granted 
to the Confederate officers. Lincohi returned to Wash- 
ington and met with an ovation at the White House on 
11th April, where he addrest the crowd on the prob- 
lem of reconstruction in the South. On the Good 
Friday following, 14th April, the Union flag was once 
more hoisted at Fort Sumter by its old defender, General 
Anderson, on the anniversary of the day on which it 
had been hauled down four years before; and on the 
same morning a Cabinet Council took place at Wash- 
ington and discust the problem of reconstruction. 

Lincoln, on the same day, also saw General Grant, 
who exprest some anxiety concerning the situation of 
General Sherman, from whom he had heard nothing for 
some days. Lincoln told Grant that he was convinced 
tha,t some good news was coming from Sherman, and 



THE END 171 

proceeded to narrate a dream which he had had on 
the previous night, and which he declared had always 
come to him on the eve of momentous news. In this 
dream he found himself on board a curiously built 
vessel which was drifting rapidly towards a dark and 
undefined shore. He said that he had had this dream 
before several of the Northern victories. He had 
dreamt it before Antietam, before Murfreesborough, 
and also before Vicksburg. General Grant commented 
that the battle of Antietam had not resulted in a 
victory; but the President took no notice of this com- 
ment and continued to describe his dream in more 
detail, and the sensations which accompanied it, in- 
sisting that he was sure that it referred to Sherman's 
victory, as he could think of no other important event 
to which it might relate. As a matter of fact, on 
the same morning Sherman had received and repHed 
to a letter from Johnston opening negotiations for 
a peaceful surrender, which was completed twelve 
days later. 

On the fateful day Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln drove out 
together, and the President seemed in a particularly 
cheerful mood. Mrs. Lincoln had arranged for a party 
at the Ford Theater that night and insisted on the 
President being one of the party, tho he himself 
was reluctant, as he had already seen the play. Our 
American Cousin, before, and did not care to go to it 
again. He, however, gave way to his wife's impor- 
tunity, humorously remarking, when he found that 



172 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

further protest was useless, ''All right, Mary, I'll go; 
but if I don't go down to history as the martyr Presi- 
dent, I miss my guess." The Grants were to have been 
of the party, but General Grant changed his mind at 
the last moment, and left Washington the same day. 
They were, however, accompanied by Major Rathbone, 
a young officer, and his fiancee. The theater was 
crowded, and the President was enthusiastically 
cheered. 

At about a quarter past ten John Wilkes Booth, an 
actor, passed along the passage behind the spectators, 
showing a card to the attendant, and entered the 
vestibule of the President's box. Closing the door 
behind him and entering by the door of the box itself, 
which was left open, as the President was leaning for- 
ward he shot him with a small pistol through the back 
of the head. Lincoln fell forward immediately, and 
made no further movement. Major Rathbone jumped 
up and seized Booth, who turned to attack him with a 
dagger which he carried in his left hand, and escaped 
from his grasp. He then rushed to the fron»t, shouting 
the words of the Virginian motto, ''Sic semper tyrannis/* 
and leapt upon the stage. The spur, however, 
which he was wearing caught in the Stars and Stripes 
banner which was displayed for the occasion, and he 
fell, breaking his leg. In spite of this, he jumped up 
again and succeeded in making his escape to the rear 
door of the theater, where he mounted a horse which 
was waiting for him. Eventually he was pursued and 



THE END 173 

finally tracked down to a barn in Virginia, which was 
set on fire by the soldiers in pursuit of him, and shot 
dead as he emerged from the flames. 

On the same night another of the conspirators gained 
entrance to Seward's house, wounding three people, in- 
cluding Seward himself, who was lying in bed from 
the effects of an accident. All, however, subsequently 
recovered. The President himself never regained con- 
sciousness, and at 7.20 on the following morning passed 
peacefully away. Two of Lincoln's sons survived him 
— one of the two destined later to become ambassador 
to Great Britain. The third, Willie, who was described 
as 'Hhe chartered libertine of the White House," died 
during the war, to the intense grief of his parents, who 
were devoted to him. This blow, the President him- 
self confessed, overwhehned him. Lincoln on one oc- 
casion, after reading to his aide-de-camp, Colonel 
Cannon, the lines from Shakespeare's King John, 

* Father Cardinal, I have heard you say 
That we shall see and know our friends in heaven. 
If that be true, I shall see my boy again," 

turned to Cannon, saying: "Colonel! Did you ever 
dream of a lost friend, and feel that you were holding 
conversation with that friend, and yet have a sad con- 
sciousness that it was not a reahty? Just so I dream 
of my boy, Willie." Overcome with emotion, he dropt 
his head on the table and burst into tears. One likes 
to think that the boy he loved so well was waiting to 



174 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

welcome the President on the other side of the Great 
Divide. 

No one who ever rose to the position of Chief Magis- 
trate of a great State was more entirely free from self- 
consciousness, or what is colloquially termed "side," 
than Lincoln. He loved to be considered as one of the 
plain people from among whom he had sprung. Of 
dignity in the strictest sense of the word he had none. 
He was hail-fellow-well-met with all, and always pre- 
ferred to be addrest as ''Mr. Lincoln" rather than as 
''Mr, President" during his term of office. His tend- 
ency, especially in the early part of his life, was con- 
sistently to underestimate his own abiHties, and, as so 
many people will always take a man at his own valua- 
tion, this doubtless had an effect detrimental to a wide- 
spread recognition of his actual capacity and intel- 
lectual power. 

Another and most striking trait in the character of 
the great American President was his humanity. I 
think one may safely say that no man who was respon- 
sible for the conduct of a great war, since the world 
began, was ever so humane by nature as Lincoln. The 
clemency of Julius Caesar to his enemies when they fell 
into his power became proverbial, but Julius Caesar's 
clemency was not comparable with Lincoln^s. His 
official position devolved upon the President the duty 
of countersigning the orders for the shooting of de- 
serters from the army, and various other dehnquents, 
under martial law. Lincoln always endeavored to find 



THE END 175 

some excuse for letting the offenders off. The stories 
told of this trait in his character are absolutely legion. 
On one occasion a Congressman who had failed to 
move the Secretary for War to grant a pardon, went 
to the White House late at night after the President 
had retired, and forcing his way into his bedroom, 
earnestly pleaded for his interference, exclaiming 
tragically, ''This man must not be shot, Mr. Lincoln." 
"Well," said the President coolly, "I do not believe 
shooting will do him any good," and the pardon was 
granted. This reminds us by contrast of the story 
of a very dour Scotch judge to whom a man who had 
been condemned for murder appealed piteously at the 
conclusion of the trial, protesting in vain that he was 
absolutely innocent of the crime of which he had been 
found guilty. ''Weel, weel," said the Scottish dig- 
nitary, waving aside the whole question of guilt or 
innocence, ''ye'll be nane the waur for a wee bit 
hanging." 

On another occasion an old man came to Lincoln 
with a tragic story. His son had been convicted of 
unpardonable crimes and sentenced to death; but he 
was an only son, and the President said kindly: ''I 
am sorry I can do nothing for you. Listen to this 
telegram I received from General Butler yesterday: 
* President Lincoln. I pray you not to interfere with 
the courts martial of the Army. You will destroy all 
discipline among our soldiers. — B. F. Butler.'" Lin- 
coln watched the old man's grief for a minute, and then 



176 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

exclaimed, ''By Jingo! Butler or no Butler, here 
goes!" Writing a few words, he handed the paper to 
the old man, which read as follows: "Job Smith is not 
to be shot until further orders from me. — Abraham 
Lincoln." ''Why," said the old man sadly, "I thought 
it was a pardon. You may order him to be shot next 
week."- "My old. friend," rephed the President, "I 
see you are not very well acquainted with me. If your 
son never dies till orders come from me to shoot huxi, 
he will hve to be a great deal older than Methuselah." 
It is small wonder that Lincoln's generals felt no little 
anxiety as to the effect his humanitarian doctrines 
might exercise upon army discipHne. 

In the realm of diplomacy Lincoln, immediately after 
his arrival at the White House, showed himself a past 
master, to the great surprise of all his subordinates, 
who wondered how it was that a man who had had 
so little natural training could prove so adept in dealing 
with complicated matters of administration and ne- 
gotiations with foreign Powers. At a quite early date 
during his first tenure of office he found himself face 
to face with a very embarrassing situation in respect 
of the relations of the United States with more than 
one European country, owing to the claim of the 
Southern Confederacy to be recognized as a nation. 
The position grew more difficult still later on, when it 
became the generally accepted opinion in Europe that 
the South would be able to enforce its claim to in- 
dependence. On 28th February, 1861, in the last 



THE END 177 

days of the outgoing administration, Jeremiah Black, 
Secretary of State, had issued a circular instructing the 
representatives of the United States at foreign capitals 
that the Government had not relinquished its con- 
stitutional jurisdiction anywhere within its territory 
and did not propose to do so. He also gave instructions 
in the same circular that a recognition of the Confed- 
eracy must not be allowed. Upon assuming the duties 
of Secretary of State, Seward confirmed these instruc- 
tions, expressing the confidence of the President in the 
speedy suppression of the rebellion. The answers he 
received from the European Powers were cautious and 
non-committal. England and France issued a proc- 
lamation of neutrality which conceded to the Confed- 
erate States the privileges of a belUgerent Power. 
Seward, in reply to this, drew up a vehement dispatch 
which threatened to embroil the relations of England 
and America. Lincoln, however, had instructed his 
subordinates on no account to send off important dis- 
patches without his supervision, and on the dispatch 
being submitted to him, made such modifications as 
completely altered the tone and manner of the com- 
munication without detracting from the firm, fine 
adopted. He, moreover, left it to the American repre- 
sentative, Charles Francis Adams, to use his discretion 
as to whether he should read the whole dispatch to 
Lord John Russell, or convey its sense to him in what 
manner he thought best. Lord Charnwood observes: 
** Probably his few pen strokes made peaceful relations 



178 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

easy when Seward's dispatch would have made them 
almost impossible. Certainly a study of this document 
will prove both his strange untutored diplomatic skill, 
and the general soundness of his views on foreign 
affairs." 

Further trouble arose with England through the ac- 
tion of a captain of the Northern navy who overhauled 
The Trent and carried off two emissaries who were being 
dispatched to England and France on behalf of the 
Confederate Government, subsequently releasing the 
vessel. This was a violation of recognized international 
law, and the British Government demanded the release 
of the prisoners. Unfortunately, Welles, the Naval 
Secretary, approved the sea-captain's action, and the 
House of Representatives confirmed this approval. 
Lincoln realized that the prisoners would have to be 
given up, and that indeed America herself had adopted 
an attitude in the past which was directly at variance 
with her present position. The matter aroused heated 
debates in the American Cabinet, and exactly what 
occurred there is somewhat obscure; but in the end the 
only decision consistent with common sense was 
adopted, and Mason and Slidell, the two emissaries 
concerned, were given up. 

When the question arose of the recognition of the 
South as an independent Republic, the British Govern- 
ment consistently refused to act in this sense, though 
there was a time when the fortunes of the North were 
at their lowest ebb, when the Cabinet hesitated as to 



THE END 179 

what was the wisest course to pursue. Disraeli, how- 
ever, then leader of the Opposition, who was consulted 
in the matter, would have nothing to do with such 
recognition, and his opinion prevailed, in spite of the 
desire of Napoleon III. (who had his own schemes afoot 
for founding an empire in Mexico), to induce England 
to commit herself. British sympathy was, -however, in 
the main strongly on the side of the South, with certain 
notable exceptions. After Lincoln's proclamation of 
the Emancipation of the Slaves was issued, opinion in 
many quarters veered round to the side of the North, 
and thenceforward there could be no question of inter- 
vention. The stroke was thus one which, apart from 
its influence on the internal conduct of the war, was 
highly favorable to the North in ridding it of embar- 
rassment in its foreign relations. 

We are, most of us, strange mixtures of strength 
and weakness, but in the case of no great man were 
strong and weak points blended more remarkably than 
in Abraham Lincoln. He himself constantly pleaded 
guilty to an inability to say ''No," and exprest thank- 
fulness on this account that he had not been born a 
woman. In his home life he yielded in almost every- 
thing. His relations with women before his marriage 
argued a certain irresolution and lack of grit and 
moral fiber. And yet, where essential principles were 
at stake, there was no one in the whole country who 
was so immovable. Once he had made up his mind 
that a certain course was right, and that it was hia 



180 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

duty to pursue it, wild horses (as the colloquial phrase 
goes) would not drag him from his decision. So it was 
that in the matter of all that was at hazard in connec- 
tion with the maintenance of the Union, and the 
attitude to be adopted towards the slavery dispute, 
he appeared to be the one strong man in a party w^here 
all others were in danger of compromising on the most 
vital principles at issue. Lincoln was certainly slow 
at arriving at his conclusions, and we shall probably 
be right in attributing his irresolution on many occa- 
sions to his inability to arrive at a definite decision with 
sufficient promptitude. He was always accustomed 
to weigh the pros and cons of any question of policy 
with scrupulous fairness, and this led at times to a 
certain inability to see on which side the balance of 
advantage lay. 

Much ink has been wasted in a discussion of what 
were Lincoln's precise religious opinions. While some 
biographers have held him up as a noble example of 
the orthodox Christian, others, like Herndon, his 
partner, have bluntly pronounced him an "infidel." 
The truth is, of course, that both statements are equally 
false, and, indeed, equally absurd. Of theology, prop- 
erly speaking, he took no account whatever. He 
frankly avow^ed his belief that theological disputation 
was the enemy of all true rehgion. His early life had 
brought him into conflict with the orthodox parson of 
the day, and he had learned to gage him at his true 
value. But there was perhaps no one in the whole of 



THE END 181 

the United States to whom genuine religion was more 
part and parcel of his every-day life. As President, his 
deeply religious nature came out again and again in his 
speeches, and I think it may be safely maintained that 
during the last century there has been one man, and 
one only, to compare with him, among all those who 
have been called upon to rule the destinies of great 
nations, in the profound depth of his religious convic- 
tions. Regarded from this standpoint, Abraham Lin- 
coln and Wilham Ewart Gladstone stand apart. And 
this, in spite of the fact that whereas Gladstone was 
an enthusiastic theologian, Lincoln had no theological 
interests. It is doubtless the case that in his later life 
Lincoln's natural religious tendencies became accen- 
tuated. As his biographers, Nicolay and Hay, state 
in their life of the President: ''The pressure of the 
tremendous problems by which he was surrounded; 
the awful moral significance of the conflict of which he 
was the chief combatant; the overwhelming sense of 
personal responsibility which never left him for an 
hour — all contributed to produce in a temperament 
naturally serious and predisposed to a spiritual view 
of life and conduct, a sense of reverent acceptance of 
the guidance of a superior Power." 

When the New School Presbyterians in 1863 em- 
bodied their sentiments of loyalty to the Union in a 
Memorial to the President, he observed in the course of 
his reply: ''From, the beginning I saw that the issues 
of our great struggle depended upon Divine interposi- 



182 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

tion and favor." Again, on another occasion, a clergy- 
man from Central New York called upon him on behalf 
of his congregation, and assured him that 'Hhe loyal 
people of the North are sustaining you and will con- 
tinue to do so," adding, *' We are giving you all that we 
have — the lives of our sons, as well as our confidence 
and our prayers. You must know that no pious father 
or mother ever kneels in prayer these days without ask- 
ing God to give you strength and wisdom." It is nar- 
rated that the tears filled Lincoln's eyes as he thanked 
his visitor and said, " But for those prayers I should have 
faltered and perhaps failed long ago. Tell every father 
and mother you know to keep praying, and I will keep 
on fighting, for I am sure that God is on our side." 

It would be possible to continue citing such instances 
indefinitely. The point, however, is that this pro- 
foundly serious and religious sense was representative 
of Lincoln's normal attitude towards the duties he was 
called upon to discharge, and was part and parcel of 
that high sense of responsibility which carried him 
through unexampled difficulties and disheartening re- 
verses to the triumphant issue of the work which he 
had to perform. He did everything, in short, in the 
time-honored old Miltonian phrase, ''as in the great 
Taskmaster's eye." 

It is not to be wondered at that a man who had so 
deep a realization of the spiritual side of life should 
have had his own strange experiences of the psychic 
forces ever present around us. Of this the present 



THE END 183 

narrative has already given several instances. His 
mind was an open one, and he brought all experiences 
to the test of his own shrewd common sense. On one 
occasion he invited a celebrated medium to display his 
powers at the White House, when several members of 
the Cabinet were present, and on other occasions it is 
recorded of him that he consulted a clairvoyante in 
times of political stress and difficulty. 

Allusion has already been made to the premonition 
which constantly haunted him, that he was destined 
not to outlive the Civil War. He alluded to this con- 
viction on many occasions, tho the thought of his 
impending doom seemed to have left him in the last 
weeks of his life, when victory was clearly imminent. 
The strange dream which he had on the night before his 
assassination has already been noted, but it is curious 
that an Englishwoman, not an American, dreamed of 
the tragedy itself within a few hours of the time of its 
occurrence. On the morning following President Lin- 
coln's death, the wife of John Morrison Davidson, the 
well-known leader-writer for the Liberal press, had a 
trance, and on recovering from it told her husband that 
she had seen a man shoot at Lincoln in some theater 
or opera-house, and rush out shouting words which 
she was unable to distinguish. In the course of the 
afternoon the news of the death reached London. A 
somewhat similar incident is recorded in connection 
with the assassination of Mr. Percival in the House 
of Commons, but in this case the warning dream pre- 



184 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

ceded the event by some days. It may be mentioned 
that Mrs. Davidson was subject to trances. 

Of the position that Lincoln's name will eventually 
occupy on the scroll of fame, historians are somewhat 
undecided. Of the nobility of his character and of his 
transparent sincerity and integrity there can be no 
possible doubt, and his tact and political sagacity 
were unique; but as regards his genius and ability as 
a statesman there is still room for two opinions. A 
man, it is argued, of a different mold and of a more 
ruthless and sterner nature might have brought the 
war to an end at an earlier date. It is scarcely to be 
doubted that Lincoln erred on the side of tolerance 
towards both his incompetent generals and his recal- 
citrant Cabinet Ministers. His patience, indeed, was 
almost inexhaustible; and his kindness of heart proved 
more than once a source of weakness to him in his 
political career. Both generals and Cabinet Ministers 
took advantage of this. General M'Clellan was in- 
subordinate to the point of insolence, and there were 
those in his Cabinet who openly intrigued against him 
and strove to undermine his influence, confident in the 
leniency of the President. It must be remembered, on 
the other hand, that he found himself in the position of 
First Magistrate of a divided nation, without practical 
political experience, and as the representative of a party 
which had but recently come into existence. The crisis 
in which he found the country limited his choice of Min- 
isters, and those who were obviously indicated as entitled 



THE END 185 

4o portfolios by the circumstances of the case, able and 
brilliant as indeed many of them were, were hardly men 
either qualified to work harmoniously together or to 
deal wisely with so grave an emergency, apart from the 
constant control and guidance of their Chief. 

All writers are agreed as to the remarkable effect 
produced by Lincoln's personal appearance — by the 
originality of his manner, his angular features, and his 
long limbs hanging loosely in his ill-fitting clothes, and 
the strange ungainliness of his figure. He stood six 
feet four inches in his socks, and was not a little proud 
of his gigantic stature. Men called him ugly, but his 
ugliness was of an impressive Idnd. In commencing to 
speak, his audience was struck by something that 
almost jarred in the harshness of his voice; but it 
inevitably arrested their attention, and the unpleasant 
impression was soon lost, owing to the fascination 
and homely force of his oratory. His humor was of 
the broadest kind, and his stories, reminiscent of the 
early backwoodsman's life, at times caused offense 
among the more sober-minded members of the com- 
munity. This humor found vent on the most trifling 
as well as the most serious occasions. Here is one 
such story that illustrates the simplicity of his habits. 
On one occasion a visitor called to see him at the White 
House, and was told that the President was down-stairs. 
He walked down to the basement, and found Lincoln 
cleaning his boots. "You do not mean to say that you 
clean your own boots, Mr. President!" exclaimed his 



186 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

visitor in horror. *' Whose boots did you suppose I 
was cleaning?" the President inquired innocently. 

The story of his reply to the temperance deputation 
who complained of General Grant because he drank 
so much whisky is well known. Could his informers 
not let him know the name of the special brand that 
Grant drank, as in that case he would send a consign- 
ment to each of his other generals? It is curious to 
note that Lincoln, himself a teetotaler and a non- 
smoker, was frequently pestered by temperance cranks 
and temperance deputations; one of these deputations 
attributed the reverses of the North to the fact that the 
soldiers drank so much whisky. This, retorted Lin- 
coln, was, he felt, most unfair, as he had it on the best 
authority that the Southern troops drank more whisky 
and of a worse quality than their Northern antagonists. 

The Abolitionists were constantly pressing Lmcoln 
to issue his Proclamation of Emancipation before, as it 
seemed to him, the psychological moment for such a 
step had arrived. Among those who were most un- 
tiring in their importunity in this direction were three 
Radical members of the party, of the names of Sumner, 
Stevens, and Wilson. Lincoln complained to his friend 
Senator Henderson that wherever he went, and wher- 
ever he turned, they were on his trail. Looking out of 
a window at that moment, he espied them in the 
distance, and proceeded to tell a characteristic story 
in illustration of the situation. "The only schooling 
I ever had, Henderson," he remarked, ''was in a log 



THE END 187 

school-house, where reading-books and grammars were 
unknown. All our reading was done from the Scrip- 
tures, and we stood up in a long line and read in turn 
from the Bible. On one occasion the chapter was that 
deahng with the casting of Shadrach, Meshach, and 
Abednego into the fiery furnace. A little boy was 
set on to read for whom the BibHcal names proved 
altogether too tough a morsel. He stumbled on Shad- 
rach, floundered on Meshach, and went all to pieces 
on Abednego. Instantly the hand of the master dealt 
him a cuff on the side of the head, and left him blubber- 
ing as the next boy took up the reading. He finally 
subsided, and his blunder was forgotten by the others 
of the class until his turn came round again. Then, 
like a thunderclap out of a clear sky, he set up a wail 
which quite alarmed the master, who inquired with 
unwonted gentleness, 'What's the matter now?' 
Pointing with a shakmg finger at a verse which a few 
moments later would fall to him to read, the little boy 
managed to quaver the answer: 'Look there, master, 
there comes them same damn three fellers again.'" 
Then Lincoln's face Hghted up with a smile such as 
only he could give, and he beckoned Senator Henderson 
to his side, silently pointing his long bony finger to 
three men who were iust then crossing Pennsylvania 
Avenue towards the White House. They were Sum- 
ner, Wilson, and Thaddeus Stevens.^ 



1 "Lincoln's Own Stories." Harper & Brothers. 



188 ABRAHAM LINCOLN 

The above story is peculiarly characteristic of Lin- 
coln's special type of humor. He delighted in finding 
parallels of a grotesque kind, and was never so happy 
as when introducing an apposite illustration for the 
purpose of the occasion from his almost inexhaustible 
fund of anecdotes. Nothing is more subtle or more 
difficult to analyze than humor. Lincoln's wit found 
its vent in a form of comic comparison and caricature 
which was part and parcel of his unique and singularly 
original mentality. 

In some sense Lincoln may be described as having 
been, in the Latin phrase, Felix opportunitate mortis. 
From the point of view of the South, however, this 
was far from being the case. John Wilkes Booth's 
mad act proved indeed to be "worse than a crime, a 
blunder." For his successor lacked those quahties 
with which Lincoln was so conspicuously endowed, and 
which were so calculated to heal the wounds caused by 
the war. Andrew Johnson was the last man fitted by 
temperament to deal diplomatically and prudently with 
the problem with which he found himself confronted 
on Lincoln's death, and none had more reason than 
the champions of the South to regret the tragedy which 
caused the end of the war to coincide with the death 
of the great protagonist of the Union and of the cause 
of Freedom. 

THE END 



My'30 



